AsiaLIFE

Elsewhere is elsewhere, literally. Re-located to the bustling Golden Mile, gone has the lush greenery and secret nooks and crannies for long-lost lovers. In are kids, no less than two pools, sleek white walls and sensible 8am to 11pm opening hours. It may carry the same name, but beyond serving massive mojitos and characteristic passion fruit vodkas, it’s a different place.

According to Marie de Suremain, who co-owns and manages the establishment, finding a new place was very difficult. With husband Alexis, she spent a whole year on the lookout. “This was our last choice. We hesitated,” he says. “It’s a completely different house from before, but it was not easy to find something similar. So the question was, should we wait longer, or open something else?” The couple went for the latter.

Transforming what used to be Amok Restaurant into a much more multi-purpose space required vision. The building looks completely transformed. Yet Marie says very little work was done beyond putting in the pools and removing the corrugated iron roof that covered the garden. “You know, when I first came to Cambodia eight years ago, the restaurant in this very building was the first one I went to,” she says. Perhaps then, it was destiny. Marie is not sure if all previous customers will follow the establishment to its new location. The new Elsewhere is aimed at a different crowd. She hopes more customers will make use of it as a daytime space.

Part of the concept is to be child-friendly, as many families in the capital struggle to find welcoming venues. The adults’ and kids’ pools, as well as the big sun beds, are further likely to attract tourists from the neighbouring guesthouses. Currently, use of the pools requires a minimum spend of US$5 for adults, and US$3 for children, and WiFi is complimentary. This may however change pending demand. “We’ll take about a month to adjust,” says Marie. Late night parties are however out of the question, though the 6pm to 8pm happy hour featuring US$2 cocktails remains. Instead of the infamous First Friday parties, Marie hopes to offer more grown-up events, such as jazz concerts, dance performances, maybe even circus shows. The idea is to continue the tradition by organising these every first Friday of the month.

The menu at Elsewhere features soups, salads, sandwiches and pastas for prices ranging from US$3 to US$9. There is also a kids’ menu with child-friendly dishes for US$2 to US$3. “The food is very much snacks and finger foods,” explains Marie. “Light dishes that are easy to eat by the pool.”
Despite being significantly smaller than the previous building, Marie has managed to fit most of her popular clothes shop on the first floor. “It was only when I started putting everything in place that I realised how big the old space was,” she says. “We are now leaving some of the clothes in the shop at Villa Lanka.”

In short, it’s a fresh start for an old-timer, now sleeker and more mature. Only time will tell if it is an equally winning concept.

Elsewhere, 2 Street 278, Tel: 012 660 232