C’est Miam Miam

By Manika Kaka

When talking about shopping mall, I would always think of those stores of beautiful clothes, shining shoes, luxury bags and pricely cosmetics. But for AEON Mall, the first international standard shopping mall opened in the kingdom of Cambodia, all I could see people make a big fuss about it on Facebook is about foods and its variety stores of restaurants. Because of that, I and my friends decided to take a tour ourselves to the mall earlier last week. 

The first impression of me on the mall is under my expectation. To be honest, I expect something more extravagant to the mall in general, but it is just a typical shopping mall, nothing to make a big fuss about. However once we decided to step up the escalators to the second floor, I understood why people are so excited about posting their trips to the mall on Facebook; precisely about the restaurants they’ve been to. Maybe it’s just me and foods, but I found the restaurants there very appealing to me and their foods are so mouth-watering.

So here is the deal, we have limited budget, so we could only choose one restaurant. But the problem is there are dozens of restaurants there to choose. What we decided to do was as the other window-shoppers always do is to go around and see which one is the most attractive to us. 

Walking along the hallway, align on both left and right side of many different types of restaurants originated from all around the world, but then I noticed a unique restaurant which the name of “Miam Miam”. Since I used to take French course a couple of years back when I was very young, my memory seemed to only catch the catchy double-words; among those “miam miam” is one of them. Translated as “yummy yummy”, “Miam Miam” hooked my sensitive sense of foods immediately and take no second mind to barge into it. 

Before I could my proceed my adventure into the new found land of foods, a waitress in front of the shop stopped by politely asked us of the numbers of chairs we gonna take for our dine in. 

Once I stepped into it, the staff of the whole restaurant greeted me enthusiastically in French as “Bonjour!” It brought me back again my childhood memory during my French course which I really love to be reminded of. I felt like a little kid that is greeted by free foods all over again. 

Like the origin of its name, the restaurant interior design is decorated in French style and it gave off a relaxing and welcoming feeling to the costumers like me. The environment itself is comfortable and not annoying like most of the typical restaurant. It’s very suitable for friends gathering to reminisce the past and catching with one another.

This restaurant once again caught me by surprise, the name and the design is in French, but the menu contains variety of foods in Italy, Japanese, French, desserts in French, and drink in Japanese. Well, these are interesting and they are really worth to try for.

I noticed the dishes ordered by other tables and each of their portions is so big that is not possible for a normal person to finish by him/herself, but the price is not so high that is very affordable for group of people to share the dishes and the bill.

Then we decided to order and share two dishes, which are more than enough for three of us, but still we decided for the same “Iced Macha Latte with Macha Softee” drink, and two different flavored of “Soufflé Pancakes”. Since I am always a fan of Italian foods, I went for the “Miam Miam Spaghetti” once I set my eyes on its picture in the menu. 

This spaghetti is the recommendation by the restaurant. It consists of spaghetti with bacon, 80% cooked egg, tomato sauce, French butter and many kinds of mushroom. Its taste is not the same as typical pasta or spaghetti you found here in Cambodia.

Like I said I’m an Italian foods fan, so I have tried at many Italian restaurants already in the country and this one at Miam Miam is just beyond my expectation and more than what I have tasted before. Therefore, I really recommend this one; it’s a must-try in the menu. 

Once I tasted it, I could smell all the ingredients in my mouth and they are so rich yet so smooth at the same time. It is not oily or too strong in flavor. I could tell the spaghetti noodles are well-cooked by their stickiness when I chewed and when they mix with the egg York of the 80% cooked egg that goes so well with the tomato sauce, it’s a perfect combination that is so tasty and not too greasy.

For the drink of “Iced Macha Latte with Macha Softee”, it is a drink that you won’t normally find at any coffee or tea shop. It is the green tea latte, but with the green tea ice cream floating in the drink. This is recommended to the green tea fans out there, but do not want the greasy cream of those drinks out there because the green tea ice cream here is not too sweet for your liking. It’s a new drink I have ever tried and it doesn’t disappoint me one bit.

Last by not least, come the favorite part of any meal; the desserts. The two kind of soufflé pancake that we ordered or the soufflé pancakes at Miam Miam in general is for those who are dessert craving but do not have sweet tooth like me. 

The pancakes there are called “soufflé pancake” because they are baked to puff up with cream before serving unlike the narmal pancakes that I used to eat. However to taste them with their fullest flavors, you have to eat while they are warm or the cream will shrink and they won’t taste the same. 

Personally, I prefer the original “soufflé pancake” that goes with honey over the Caramel Banana pancake because it tastes less sweet, but for those who prefer something sweet, Caramel Banana pancake is five-star recommended to you. 

After this one fully meal we had, we left the restaurants with nothing but satisfaction and happiness. I will never forget the richness tastes and the comfortable feelings. I will for sure visit the restaurant again in the near future and I already crossed the dishes and desserts I want to taste next time already. I have to come again with a purpose. So until next time I come up with another foods review, why don’t you go and try at Miam Miam’s first?