NGO

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Geo: 11.5588, 104.917

Phnom Penh gets mixed reviews, and we weren't quite sure what to expect of Cambodia's capital, only knowing that it was a bustling, chaotic, big city. It also has a bit of a reputation for not being the safest place to travel, making us a bit leery, especially after having been mugged in Thailand, and being warned by an expat couple at the airport to be very careful in Phnom Penh. It's a shame in a way, because that perhaps resulted in us not fully taking advantage of all that this city has to offer.

Phnom Penh is actually a pretty cool place and surprisingly cosmopolitan, full of some great restaurants and cafes that cater to the international expat crowd, and a variety of neat little shops and boutiques. There are a number of NGOs that have set up shop here in Phnom Penh, and though they are widely criticized for a number of reasons, there is no doubt that they have left a mark on this city. For travelers, NGOs are one of the biggest reasons that they find this city so enjoyable, because of the international flavour they lend to the city.

Our time is very limited in Phnom Penh, and having landed here in the afternoon, we didn't have the chance to do a whole lot more than have lunch, do a bit of boutique browsing, and take a dip in the hotel pool. We didn't sample any of the city's cultural offerings, such as the Royal Palace and National Museum, or browse the Central Market, or stroll along the riverside. Part of it was a lack of time, but part of it was also the feel of sketchiness in certain parts of Phnom Penh, or perhaps it may have been our hypersensitivity to it after our Phuket Town experience.

It was a shame in a way, taking extra precautions to avoid a repeat incident, as we didn't allow ourselves to get to know the real Cambodia that is to be found in Phnom Penh - but we really didn't want anything bad to happen during our last two nights of the trip, as that would undoubtedly have ended the trip on a very bad note. So we played it extra safe tonight and holed ourselves up in our hotel, leaving us feeling somewhat trapped and unable to enjoy Phnom Penh's nightlife. Of course, trapped is probably too strong of a word, since we were stuck in a five star hotel with a gourmet restaurant - thank you, NGOs ...

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Photos

The Red Pool ...
... by day, the hotel's pool actually looks kinda nasty - with it painted completely red, the water ends up looking muddy or polluted, but it's much nicer at night when you can see that the water is crystal clear.

Resourceful ...
... Cambodians have turned recycling into an art, taking bags used to store rice and cement mix into wallets and purses. These weren't even the fanciest ones we've encountered, but we were still impressed by both the quality and look of these items.

Killer Crepes ...
... but the Cambodian noodle soup left a little to be desired - it's a common breakfast dish here, but we suspected that this was a westernized version.

Fresh ...
... this young coconut could not be any fresher, as upon placing our order, a worker scurried up a tree to retrieve one for us! While the young coconut was wonderful, the pineapple rambutan daquiri was forgettable, not really tasting like either fruit.

Duck Spring Rolls w/ Pumpkin ...
... decent, but we really couldn't taste much duck, only pumpkin, and the wrapper was a bit chewy. The persimmon sauce was quite nice.

Chicken Vegetable Curry ...
... super tasty, and the fresh, crusty baguette was an unexpected, but nice, accompaniment. Not a very heavy or rich curry, but still delicious.

Grilled Eggplant w/ Minced Pork ...
... absolutely killer, especially the eggplant. The vegetables were awesome today, including the green beans in the chicken curry. We ended up stuffing some of this pork and eggplant into the baguette that came with the curry, for the ultimate improvised Cambodian sandwich. Romdeng is one of many restaurants run by NGOs in town, and is one of several restaurants in a network run by Friends International. You can debate the true effectiveness of NGOs, but one thing is beyond question - this particular NGO effort serves up some excellent food in a beautiful location!

Chicken Satay ...
... typically we don't dine in at our hotel, but the restaurant at the Plantation Resort dished up some awesome chicken satay, juicy and tender as always, but we still pined for the phenomenal peanut sauce of Lemongrass in Chiang Mai., even though the chicken here was better. The fried prawn crackers were a nice touch.

Sugarcane Pork ...
... demonstrated the similarities between Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine. These tasted like the most amazing, juiciest Asian meatballs.

Bacon-Wrapped Beef ...
... Cambodia continued to demonstrate their deft touch with the grill, putting a local spin on this Western delight by nicely seasoning the meat with Cambodian spices.

Tamarind Prawns ...
... one of the very few disappointments with our dinner - the prawns weren't anything special, and the sauce wasn't that great either, and it was served with some pretty blah mashed potatoes. Worst of all was the terrible rice, which had been compacted into a bowl and overturned onto the plate, as part of the presentation. Rice in Cambodia has been awesome so far, and is revered by the entire population - it's positively sacrilegious to treat rice in that way in Cambodia!

Crappy Creme Brulees ...
... coconut, orange, and vanilla - we definitely should've skipped these, as they had a chunky consistency and were overcooked to the point where they released all their water, causing the tops of the brulees to recess into small craters, and leaving a watery mess underneath the soggy crust. We also suspected that they were made at least a few days prior, not tasting very fresh.

Homemade Sorbets ...
... lemongrass ginger, ginger black sesame, and blackcurrant - a decent finish to the meal.

Oops ...
... though overall we were supremely pleased with our delicious meal, we did think that the menu selection was a bit small. But on our way out of the restaurant, we realized that the menu had second pages, and we simply hadn't flipped them up to see what was beneath. Oops ...