A family kitchen on St. 777
Beef and Basil began with one pot of beef broth, a coffee grinder and a room in Khan Russey Keo. That is still most of what we are. The family cooks, serves and answers the phone.
We are open monday to saturday, 07:00 to 19:00, for breakfast bowls, long lunches and an iced coffee on the way home. Prices are in US dollars and the menu stays short so every dish gets attention.
The broth
Beef bones and brisket go into the pot and stay there. The taste comes from time and from skimming, not from powder. We keep it clear, season it at the end and taste it before the first bowl leaves the kitchen.
A bowl arrives with rice noodles, sliced beef, soft tendon and beef balls. The herbs come on the side so you build it yourself: basil, saw-leaf herb, bean sprouts, lime and as much chilli as you can take.
What is always in the kitchen
Beef bones
Simmered long enough to go cloudy and then skimmed clear again.
Whole spice
Star anise, cinnamon, clove and coriander seed for the stew, never a paste.
Cut herbs
Basil, saw-leaf herb, spring onion and coriander, cut in the room where you eat.
Bread and lime
Baguette sliced for the stew, limes halved for everything else.
Coffee, and something cold
Cafe Deum is our Khmer coffee: roasted dark, brewed strong and poured over a full glass of ice, with milk on the side so you decide how sweet it gets.
Next to it sits Ngam Ngov, a soda built on preserved lime that lands sour and salty at the same time, and an iced lemon tea with fresh lime for anyone who wants the gentler version.
The people
The same family cooks, carries the bowls and picks up the phone. If something is wrong, tell whoever put it on your table and we will fix it while you are still sitting there.
Riders, drivers and neighbours get the same bowl as everyone else. There is no second kitchen.