Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor

The majestic Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor was Siem Reap‘s first hotel, and it remains the city’s grande dame. If you’re not staying here, it’s worth heading to the elegant Elephant Bar for a cocktail so you can snoop around this regal old hotel. (Don’t miss the original antique elevator in the lobby; the stupendous swimming pool inspired by the man-made barays, or dams, at Angkor Archaeological Park; and the stylish boutiques, including Galerie Cambodge and Khmer Attitude in the chic shopping arcade.) While the Elephant Bar primarily sees hotel guests here sipping cocktails before or after dinner, expats also drop in to take advantage of the happy hour (4-6 p.m.), when drinks are 50 percent off. The bar’s signature cocktail, the Airavata, is pretty special. Named after the mythical white elephant that was supposedly ridden by Indra, the Hindu king of gods, it’s made with rum, crème de banana, and fresh lime, pineapple, and coconut juices, and is a heady taste of the tropics in a coconut shell. I personally prefer their modern martinis, such as the Chillitini, with chili-infused vodka, ginger, and lime juice. There’s a smart-casual dress code, so men need to wear a collared shirt and trousers and everyone needs to leave their flip-flops at the hotel.

Most hotels and many restaurants in Siem Reap offer cooking classes in Cambodian cuisine, beginning with a market tour and ending with lunch, and the class offered by Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor is one of the best. The chefs are some of the most professional and knowledgeable in the city, so they’re able to teach the class at an introductory level or offer advanced insights for those who already know how to cook Asian cuisines. If they weren’t reasons enough to check in and sign up, the grand environment and historic surroundings of Siem Reap’s oldest hotel make for a pretty special culinary experience.

It’s thought that amok trei (fish amok) is a Royal Khmer Cuisine dish that dates back to the Khmer Empire that later travelled to Thailand where it is known as hor mok. When prepared properly, the freshwater Tonle Sap snakehead fish is marinated in a yellow kroeung (a lemongrass-based curry paste) and fresh coconut cream, then massaged and left to rest, before being poured into in a banana leaf basket lined with a noni leaf or two (important), and steamed. Once ready, it’s drizzled with a little coconut cream and served. The result is a rich souffle-like dish, more correctly known as a mousseline. If it’s not steamed, it’s not amok, it’s just a curry. These days, much to the horror of older Cambodians, it’s often served in tourist restaurants simply as a curry and the fish is replaced with chicken, beef and even tofu, to please tourists. Locals do not consider this to be amok. The best in Siem Reap is at the Sugar Palm restaurant, however, my husband and I made the amok trei pictured above at the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor cooking class.

Cambodia’s ubiquitous pepper beef dish known as lok lak came from the Vietnamese and before that China. With the best renditions the beef is simmered in a piquant pepper sauce and presented beautifully, as it is here at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. My husband made this one during their superb cooking class. However, in rustic, family eateries, the beef is often stir-fried, served with rice and green tomato slices, and the pepper and lime sauce is served in a dish on the side. Occasionally a fried egg is plopped on top. When quality beef is used and left rare to medium-rare, it is sublime. Unfortunately the Cambodian beef can be tough and is often over-cooked. Regardless, it’s a delicious in both its street food and fine dining forms.

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