Sunday, 20 January 2013

La Maison d'Ambre, Phnom Penh - Cambodia


Being a hotel brat myself, I couldn't resist writing a review on one of the boutique hotels we stayed in, in Phnom Penh, La Maison d'Ambre (http://www.lamaisondambre.com/). The hotel has been designed by the owner, who is a French interior designer, and also owns her own boutique nearby, Ambre. The attention to detail in this hotel is what makes it truly special. The lobby even had it's own signature Christmas tree in keeping with the rest of the décor - a cute addition I felt.


What makes this hotel so unique is it's 10 individually designed apartments which each have a theme based on a city or country. I stayed in the 2 bedroom Mogambo suite. The apartments are incredibly spacious, so much so that I would quite like an apartment like this in London!
Mogambo Suite
The themes the rooms are inspired by range from Japanese to Manhattan  The apartments are also designed so that they are large enough to host small parties in. 
Casablanca Suite
One of the biggest highlights of the hotel, I felt, was the rooftop bar The Fifth Element. With decadent cocktails using fresh local fruits, we really enjoyed the view of the sun setting over Phnom Penh. The vibrant tones of orange and purple gave the decor a very modern twist.  
Mango Daiquiri & Lime Daiquiri

The Fifth Element Bar

The view was beautiful so we decided to stay for dinner. For starters I had Salmon Tartar (a favourite of mine) wrapped in rice paper rolls. The salmon was impeccably fresh but perhaps a little bit too much chilli for my taste, though this is probably a result of my weakened spice palate since living in Europe. For my main I had the Bouillabaisse with sea bass. The fish was cooked to perfection but the bouillabaisse itself was too fishy and overly salted. The service was friendly but a little slow, however when the story of the wait staff was explained to us we suddenly had a bit more patience. Basically, the hotel hire young adults from a local orphanage who reach the point where they are too old to be dependent on the orphanage but lack formal training to find a job. La Maison d'Ambre then train them in various departments of the hotel so that they can work and become independent, regardless of whether they choose to keep working for the hotel. It's a great concept, and something I think more countries could benefit from. 

8/10 would be my total rating for this hotel. Despite the gorgeous hotel, the food still needs a bit of work. Definitely my top pick for Phnom Penh though!




Cambodia

I recently went back to Malaysia for the Christmas holidays, but my Mum decided we were to spend Christmas in Cambodia. I have actually been to Cambodia twice before but spent most of my time in Siem Reap, whereas this trip we spent most of our time in Phnom Penh.

The trip began with a much needed trip to the hairdressers, as living in London means my beauty needs are too expensive to maintain. My hairdresser from Kuala Lumpur (Ryan) has actually set up a fabulous salon in Phnom Penh called The Dollhouse - check it out if you're over there http://www.thedollhousecambodia.com/ - and finally felt back to my usual self after some much needed highlights! If you need any other beauty treatments that Ryan's salon does, just ask him and he'll send you to the best places.

As far as shopping in Phnom Penh goes, it's very much the typical SE Asian touristy things that you would find also in Vietnam and Thailand, but my favourite market was probably the Russian Markets. Probably the best part of Phnom Penh (aside from it's interesting but tragic history), are all the gorgeous restaurants. Being quite the foodie myself I was really impressed with the variety of restaurants and cocktail bars.

The first night we were there, we went to this amazing cocktail bar called Bar Sito, in which the bartender's seem to put their own unique twist on cocktails. I had the peach mojito which literally had fresh peach in it, which was delicious. At only $5 US for a cocktail, I was pretty pleased, since I was still thinking in pounds. The bar had a great ambience, friendly staff, and was well located on street 240 (a street well known for its boutiques). Details for Bar Sito are available on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Bar.sito.asia?ref=stream


We also went to The Exchange on our first night in Phnom Penh, which had brilliant food, despite the slow service. For my entrée I had a salt and pepper squid salad, which for a change wasn't deep fried. I felt this was a nice healthy change to the dish, and the squid was very tender.
I must admit, I wasn't really expecting to have such amazing ribs at this fusion restaurant but they were delicious. With a nice New Zealand Pinot Noir (Oyster Bay), they went down a treat. 



The best restaurant we went to in Phnom Penh though is without a doubt is the Tepui Chinese House (http://www.chinesehouse.asia/lounge.html), which ironically does not serve Chinese food. This rustic yet beautiful looking restaurant depicts an artistic Asian style of architecture but serves beautiful Spanish food. We ate tapas that night, and I would have to recommend the salmon tartar with wasabi emulsion. To accompany the food, we enjoyed a very smooth Argentinian Malbec. For dessert we all indulged in a chocolate, praline and salted caramel brownie which was served quite neatly in a champagne flute. Though my Dad ordered what he thought was going to be Key Lime pie, but turned out to be more like a lime milkshake served in a Martini glass, still tasted nice though.





Private dining for two


I do normally eat mostly local food when I'm in Asia but we were visiting friends who took us to all these brilliant Western or fusion restaurants, and I have to say they were mostly spot on with the restaurant choices. If you are in Cambodia, I do strongly recommend these restaurants if you fancy a night off from local food, or even just for the cocktails. These places aren't as touristy as The Foreign Correspondent's club, which frankly is tired, dated, and overrated as far as the food goes, but does have a pleasant view.

Saturday, 8 December 2012

Milano - Ciao Bella!

Milan has to be one of my favourite cities in the world. Earlier this year I actually lived in Milan, working as an Au Pair. While that job sucked, Milan was incredible. I was fortunate to live in the beautiful area of San Babila (very central). The family I worked for lived walking distance from the heart of Milan's fashion district - Molto bella!

Duomo di Milano

Duomo is the stunning Cathedral in the heart of Milan, and a must see for visitors to the city! Duomo is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan. This cathedral is home to years of history, but for me personally it's the intricate architecture that's most impressive.

Inside Duomo

Whilst the architecture is stunning, and the shopping amazing, by far my favourite thing in Milan was Aperitivo. This type of dining originates in Milan, and is very difficult to find elsewhere, even in other cities within Italy. Basically, Aperitivo requires you to buy one drink (a glass of Italian red will only set you back about €7 with Aperitivo), and you can indulge in a multitude of delicious Italian canapés. It's an all you can eat buffet of meats, cheeses, olives, and grilled vegetables. In some bars, Aperitivo even includes pasta dishes and pizzas! Naturally, for us this was a cheap dinner. For those of you who live in London, Aperitivo is becoming quite popular over here at the moment, and restaurants such as Banca (http://www.bancarestaurant.com/) are offering this Milanese tradition. Think I need to bring it to Kuala Lumpur, but one thing at a time :) 


While central Milan has great Aperitivo spots, it is Porto Ticinese which is a great spot for bars and clubs - much cheaper than San Babila! Although I do love the glamour of the Armani Bar and Just Cavalli (http://www.justcavallihollywood.it/), Porto Ticinese is more suitable for an Au Pair's budget. You can get the number 3 tram from Via Torino (opposite Duomo) to get here - if memory serves. These are my Milano essentials, but I will be posting more tips for Italy later on.

Selamat Datang (Welcome)

I've recently decided to give blogging a try, as I've travelled a lot and feel there's a lot to be said for the places I've been and the experiences I've had. I was born in New Zealand, Auckland to be exact, but we moved around a lot due to my Dad's job. Australia was home for many years, and then the Cook Islands, then Australia again, and then when I was 12 we moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - those of you from KL wouldn't consider where I lived (Shah Alam) KL though!

I haven't been home to Malaysia in almost a year, and when attempting to make New Year's Eve plans with all my friends, I googled "Top 10 Bars in KL", as I assumed there might be some new places worth checking out. To my horror the recommendations lacked detail (yes I'm a perfectionist), and were clearly written by people who had only briefly visited KL. Therefore, I have decided to start a foodie/travel blog for those of you who love to travel as much as I do. I hope you enjoy my blog :)