Across the bamboo bridge, a hidden gem - Dyen Sabai
Across the bamboo bridge just down from Phosai Mountain tucked away in the forests is a hidden gem, the Dyen Sabia Restaurant.
Surrounded by bamboo, palms and mango trees, tranquility awaits you. Spacious chillout pavilions with low tables and comfortable cushions and mats over looking the Namkhan River.
Sitting by the river with good, cheap drinks, board games and books makes an evening here like no other. We could have spent hours playing and drinking. It's a great place to relax and read a book or hang out with friends in the private nooks and crannies.
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Pizza for the Kids and Peace for Harried Parents
The kids are whining, you are hot and bothered, another night of tummy trouble is going to be the death of you and junior swears he is not going to eat anything that looks remotely Asian. Or maybe you just want some good old fashioned junk food delivered to your door. Days like this, the first fast food chain to open in Cambodia is a welcome option.
Pizza Company is a Thai chain with more than 120 outlets in that country alone. It set up shop in Cambodia a couple of years ago and proved an instant hit with the locals - both Cambodian and expatriate.
Fill Your Cup
Solace can be hard to come by in Saigon. Luckily the city possesses a wealth of cafes where peace and respite are as plentiful as the coffee. Karin Esterhammer investigates. Photos by Linh Phanroy.
If prizes were awarded for the noisiest city on the planet, Saigon would assuredly be among the contenders. If you’ve ever been irritated by a neighbour who liked to rev up his or her motorcycle, multiply that by 3.2 million or so. Mix in a cacophony of horns, loud karaoke music and nonstop construction noise and, within a few days, you’ll have inadvertently ground your teeth down to little nubs.
Bangkok’s Best Kept Secret?
I happened to be looking at an apartment on Sathorn 3, Suan Plu Soi 8 one night when I walked past a unique food stall/restaurant. Outside from the main dining area was a food stall with 2 pans with wonderful looking, sizzling steaks. The minute I saw the steaks I new I had to try this place so I sat down and ordered.
Best Wines Under Fifteen Dollars
Drunk in moderation, wine, medical research tells us, is good for the heart. So, Saigon’s unofficial, self-anointed panel of wine experts decided to follow the advice and tasted their way through 50 white and red wines to give you the best eight of each. All the tasting was blind and the event was conducted at Cepage.
Tasting 50 wines in two hours is no mean feat, and when considering the various palates of five unique wine tasters, it makes for some zesty and spirited conversation.
Ko Ko Ro Sushi
Last night I was completely famished and could not face another bowl of prahok, noodles or soup if my life depended upon it. A colleague in the office who shares a similar penchant for Japanese food had mentioned a great sushi restaurant where the Khmer chef has been trained by a Japanese master and apparently it was also reasonably priced. So with my girlfriend eager to join me, we headed for Ko Ko Ro at #18 Eo Sihanouk Boulevard (St 274).
Espressamente Illy Cafe Phu My Hung
Now we have our own Espressamente Illy Coffee shop in Phu My hung. It opened last Saturday. A quick review.
What I like:
The design is awesome. It's a modern and clean design, mandatory for all Illy Coffee shops all over the world with just adjustment to the local shop sizes. The armchairs are real leather and comfortable, the lightning is not to bright, and the close the curtains when too much sunlight comes in.
Le Liban Restaurant et Jardin
When was the last time you actually wanted a tour of a restaurant before you ate?
Le Liban is the newest Lebanese cuisine in town and it is set in a huge ex-embassy compound that has taken the owners a year to renovate. What they have created is an amazing testament to what you can achieve if you have vision. Is that a Bedouin tent in the middle of Phnom Penh? Yes? Is that a traditional Khmer wooden house (painted funky purple) really a sheesha bar? Yes. Are those immaculate outside gardens with fountains really that immaculate? Yes. Is that plain concrete wall really painted with a trompe d'oeil that makes it look like an ancient, ivy covered sandstone wall? Yes.
Review: Villa Khmer - The Shock of the New
On the site of the old ‘Talking to a Stranger’ bar at 21B Street 294, partners Sophea Touch and Siem Reap-based designer Theam have opened Villa Khmer, which comes described as a Restaurant|Lounge|Boutique. It’s a striking creation, all clad in bright red and dark hues. That's just the wait staff. The restaurant is similarly attired, too, and furnished in the minimalist Zen style popular with classy joints here in Phnom Penh.
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Some advice if you run a coffee shop
I am a bit addicted to coffee shops. The reason is that I like coffee and I like to sit in a Cafe. Since many coffee shops are offering Wifi, they became a workplace for me. What sometimes sucks is the management. You seldom see the owner or manager at the front desk, they leave all the work to the mostly untrained stuff. So some advice for coffee shop owners and managers:
1.) Your customers are important, not you and your balance sheets. If there is any trouble, get your ass off your office and assist your staff
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