As a Singapore based journalist friend of mine recently found if it goes wrong, it goes wrong big time. Looking forward to a nice weekend in PP, she contracted a very bad case of food poisoning. Her husband, who was only there for the weekend, got to see nothing of PP other than the very uninspiring trip from the airport.
We had no such problems on our trip a week later. On the whole the food was excellent and not a dodgy tummy was to be had.
The city is riddled with eateries to suit all palates and wallets, from mobile hawker stalls, to genuinely high class French eateries. In fact I’d go as far as to say that my new favourite restaurant is in PP, and sits on a quiet street just behind the royal palace.
Open Wine, on 219 street, is a typical French bistro. It has a selective menu and wine list and doesn’t try to be all things to all men. What it does, it does superbly.
We started by sitting outside, decided that, even in the night air, it was still too warm and asked to be moved inside. No problem.
The clientele were a mixture of expats and French speaking Cambodians, while the décor is of a typical French bistro; dark wooden tables and chairs, accompanied by French white linen tablecloths. French cultural icon Edith Piaf sings hauntingly in the background.
The staff flitted around us at the new table inside, offering drinks rolls and practicing their English. They all smiled.
Having spent the last eight years in Sydney I’m not really used to this. In that great city they prefer the standoffish approach, which is now all the vogue, with added extra snarl if you dare ask for a top up of anything, or complain.
What is it about sullen restaurant staff? I’m always polite to them; it’s my one rule when I go to a restaurant. I want it to be an enjoyable experience for the both of us. There is nothing worse than obnoxious customers that look down there nose at staff. For gods sake they are only trying to earn a crust.
But the opposite is also true, for crying out load if you don’t enjoy working in a restaurant, get another job. Don’t bring my night down just because someone three weeks ago glared at you when you brought them a white roll instead of a brown one.
Sitting at our table I noticed that a guy on the next table had a cricket shirt on, unable to resist I started chatting to him, causually dropping that the team I play for in Singapore would be keen for a trip up to PP.
The conversation quickly turned to the restaurant though. He sidled up to me, rather conspiratorially, and in a hushed tone said:
“You've done yourself a favour coming here, it’s by far the best restaurant in Phnom Penh.”
Having perused the menu my ever suffering wife Sharon started with the Fois Gras, a generous serving that melted in the mouth and was incredibly flavoursome.
I started with smoked salmon, served with a shot of vodka - sorry doc – together with pepper, salt and capper condiments. The fish was fresh and the vodka provided some punch.
For mains Sharon had the Duck served on Cassoulet. This was incredible; the slow-cooked bean stew was prepared to perfection, sprinkled with liberal chunks of sausage and bacon. The duck, a generous proportion, was tender and moist.
For my mains it was impossible to ignore the deer. Succulent shreds of lean meat covered in a rich juis and toppled with a fluffy mashed potato round.
On the side were French beans served in incredibly aromatic garlic butter.
Wine was a French Semillon, not particularly expensive, but with great body and the typical citrus flavours one would expect from a young wine of this style. I also snuck in a glass of the house Pinot Noir. Again the wine was fresh, with cherry overtones that perfectly matched both the duck and deer.
The whole thing came to just over US$100 and admittedly while this is a lot of money in Cambodia, restaurants in both Sydney and Singapore could take a leaf out of this eateries book. Open Wine provided us friendly top quality food, service and ambience without charging an arm and a leg.
Cheers.
Blocka
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