AsiaLIFE

The “permanent” closure of Pyongyang Restaurant has given vent to many cries of foul play. Gone has Phnom Penh’s only North Korean Restaurant, so people say – they couldn’t be more wrong, says Mark Bibby Jackson.

Reading an issue of the Phnom Penh Post the other week, I noticed reports that Pyongyang had closed. This concerned me as I tucked into my kim chi with belly of pork, not so much that the restaurant was closed, as that there was no mention of the other North Korean restaurant – the one I was sitting in at the time.

Daedonggang ‘Sunflower’ restaurant might not have the same reputation as Phnom Penh’s original North Korean restaurant, but maybe this is no such bad thing. The service is impeccable. A smiling greeting shows you to your seat and attentive, but not obtrusive servility ensues with constant filling of the teacup. Occasional broken English – there is only so far that “I’m on the Top of the World” gets you – is only mildly intrusive, and above all the food is excellent. You can’t go far wrong with the set meals (US$8 / US$10) or the bibimbap (US$6), which is meticulously cut up at your table by your waitress. It is though the belly of pork (US$6) that I find myself returning to time and time again. Flavoursome without being too spicy, fatty enough to enhance the taste of the supporting kim chi without becoming gross, this is a great way to spend a quiet lunch with your favourite newspaper, or if it is that time of the month – AsiaLIFE Guide.

Quiet at lunchtime it might be, but come sunset this place bursts into life with greater venom than Dracula from his coffin. (Don’t worry there is sufficient garlic in the food to deter even the most voracious of vampires.) Korean expats and tourists are here to see the floorshow. Starting at 7.30pm, the waitresses put down their teacups and move towards the stage. Whether it is playing the gayageum (a long, multi-stringed zither), dancing in circles or singing fervent nationalistic songs, the women are transformed into flawless pillars of Kim Jong-il’s perfect society.

In truth, the performers are talented, especially the gayageum player, whose cheeks burn with fire as she plucks away at her instrument. However, the show is disappointingly brief, around 20 minutes, unless one of the guests emboldened by cheap Soju decides to grab the microphone to sing some traditional Korean folk karaoke. Either for a peaceful, air-conditioned lunch, or in filling the void that Pyongyang’s closure has left, Daedonggang is well worth a visit. However, if you see a man reading his paper while chewing on some belly of pork, please don’t ask the waitresses to sing any Carpenters’ songs.

Sunflower Daedonggang Restaurant, First floor, Cnr. of Street 466 & 456A Monivong Blvd. (above the entrance to the Asia Club), Tel: 023 726 084.