Liquid Bar has really raised the stakes for interiors of shop-front style bars. With its polished concrete, gun-metal grey floor, chocolate leather seats, exposed tiled roof and well appointed and fabulously backlit bar (lots of real bubbles!), it really is a swish space indeed. You don't have to fight past the usually obligatory terrace furniture to get into the bar and once in you could swing a dead cat freely.
Crime is on the increase. Whether it's due to the magical disappearance of the amusement park on Sisowath Quay (a former favorite teenage hangout), or the new appearance of a growing middle class, some Khmer teenagers have begun to take to the streets with guns.
This last Saturday two Australian Ex-pats were walking home after dinner in the BKK neighbourhood and were stopped by a young man on an expensive bike with a very large handgun. He spoke one word of English to them "Money", took their cash, wallets, sense of safety and sped off.
Friday night at the Rising Sun is country music night. In fact, if the mood takes management, Thursday and Saturday nights might be heavy on the sounds of Johnny Cash et al as well. The pictures on the walls are from a past era in more ways than one - Minder, mods, scooters and The New Avengers.
But the Sun, as it is affectionately known, has stood the test of time for nearly a decade, and this English pub grub-style restaurant run by a long term expat Aussie never disappoints with its food.
Tucked away under the FCC is a favorite haunt for expatriates seeking Italian comfort food with a touch of class. Pop Café da Giorgio, owned, as the name suggests, by Italian Giorgio, is cool and classy, but its prices are very friendly on the pocket.
Pizza, lasagna and home made pasta are billed as the specialties of the house, and an impressive wine list leaning towards Italian vineyards top tempt diners from the blackboard of specials as they walk in.
If restaurants could talk, the FCC would tell some interesting tales. As one of Phnom Penh's most established restaurants, it has witnessed much of Cambodia's tumultuous history. Enviably positioned right on the riverfront, the FCC is the capital's pre-eminent meeting place for tourists and expatriates.
Expat Advisory Services talks with Greg Cahill, the proud recipient of Cambofest's Krabey Meas (Golden Water Buffalo) award for 'Best Short', which he won for 'Samleng Meas', The Golden Voice.
Can you tell us about your background in film prior to this particular feature?
Over the last two weeks we've seen the Environmental Film Festival, the Refugee Film Festival, and Cambofest. Now that the dust has settled, Cambofest has presented some awards to their entrants. Two standouts were a locally produced animated vignette and a biographical drama on Ros Sereysothea.
After many return visits this year, I have decided this is one of my favourite bars in Phnom Penh. When I started reading website postings about what makes a good bar in Phnom Penh, many people said it was the man behind the bar ( does anyone know a female bar owner in Phnom Penh ? ) and in the Green Vespa's case, this is particularly true. Alan is a consummate professional and I reckon he probably knew he wanted to be a barman at the age of four.
EAS checks in with Puy Chhunly, who along with Yannick Zanchatta recently won Cambofest's coveted 'Golden Water Buffalo' award for its 'Local Showcase' category. Their short 2-D animation Little Boy Drinking Bad Water - a simple story of a common rural ailment (diarrhea) - is used for teaching about health and safety, and was an audience favorite at the festival.
What interests you in animation?
Although there is no sign in English, the telltale bamboo steamer baskets in the pristine kitchen front of house immediately alert dim sum fans to the delicious possibility of steamed dumplings, and in fact Beijing Ta Thang Khouv serves little else.
This new dumpling establishment owned by true Beijing expatriates and staffed by Cambodians has been open just a few weeks, but it already has a dedicated clientele of Chinese according to staff, although they also admitted these devotees were not yet arriving in droves, but rather dribs and drabs.