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.
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.
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.
Tucked away on the southern section of Monivong Boulevard, this small and unassuming shop front restaurant represents real value for money and indeed offers "a taste of Singapore", yet with an atmosphere reminiscent of Sunday dinner with the family, Asian style.
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.
The first thing most people notice about organically produced food is the taste. Rich red organic tomatoes which can scent whole salads with their fragrance, carrots so sweet they might have been dipped in honey, chicken which adds a depth to soups and stews that its larger steroid-laden counterparts could never match. Consumers notice the difference.
Once, Phnom Popay, or Goat Mountain, was a heartland of Cambodia's ethnic Muslim Cham people, who raised hundreds of the creatures in this secluded spot about 50 kilometers from the capital in Kampong Speu province.
The war changed all that, and by 1970, the area was a Khmer Rouge stronghold and all the Cham had fled or been killed. Today, this again a peaceful spot, a beautiful pagoda stands surrounded by forest at the peak of a hill. Down below a stream runs, making it a favorite picnic spot for Phnom Penh people and locals alike.