AsiaLIFE

Jed Byrom shares a few home secrets about the best Little Italian in – or rather just outside of – town. AsiaLIFE takes no responsibility for the views expressed in this article, although the editor-in-chief agrees whole heartedly.

I’ve met a few travel writers while on my own journeys, and I can tell you with some authority that at least some of them have favourite places they refuse to write about for fear their Eden will become spoiled and overrun by all and sundry. I feel a bit that way about writing of L’Oasi Italiana, because since its opening this has been an escape for me – a place to get away from the dusty mayhem of downtown Siem Reap and sit quietly with friends in the verdant garden setting. In the interests of journalistic integrity, I will disclose that I am dear friends with one of the owners and good friends with the other.

I’ve got a long history with L’Oasi. Carla Ara, who is half-owner of the restaurant, was one of the first people I met when I came here to settle down in 2001. She was an Italian guide then, one of two in town. I remember sitting in a guesthouse restaurant with her. I was dining on fried rice. Carla was having baguettes, deep-fried. “I need the kilos,” she said. “Every year I lose more kilos.” I told her she should open a restaurant. She invited me to lunch at her house, and we had homemade pesto and linguine. I told her, seriously now, that she should open a restaurant.

The month prior to the restaurant’s opening was one of the best, food-wise, of my life. Every two days or so Carla would call and ask me to come down to the restaurant and sample prospective dishes. It was a chore, but I soldiered through, and when the restaurant finally opened I knew just what I liked – everything!

If it wasn’t clear in the first paragraph, it must be by now. This isn’t a traditional restaurant review. I can’t write a traditional restaurant review of a place I love like this. Trust me. Go there. If you can’t bring yourself to trust me, go and ask around. You’ll get someone here or there with a complaint about the service, or how long it took the food to arrive. Synchronisation of servings can be an issue at times. You won’t find many who complain about the food, though, and even those who bemoan the service probably find it in their hearts to return regularly.

Here’s a bone thrown to those who wonder what kind of restaurant reviewer writes this kind of tripe. You should try the beef carpaccio. Raw beef in Cambodia – I eat it all the time. My visitors eat it all the time. It hasn’t made anyone ill yet. So it’s safe and delicious. Try it. The insalata Caprese is another special. Fresh mozzarella is the manna of the gods. Roberto, the head chef and the other co-owner, is incredibly picky about all his ingredients. The tomatoes burst with flavour, the cheese melts in your mouth, the basil and olive oil complement both. You can’t go wrong choosing the homemade pastas, particularly the gnocchi with pesto or gorgonzola and the Cappeletti Bosciaola – any of these. The lasagnas are tasty. The homemade sausage, grilled on its own or as a topping on a pizza is delectable. Save room for the sweets at the end. The tiramisu is very sweet as far as tiramisus go, but is a great choice to share with a friend or loved one. The pannacotta is light and lovely. I’m sure the fruit salad is nice, but who orders fruit salad in the shadow of a good pannacotta or tiramisu?

L’Oasis is a bit more expensive than some places in town with mains running from US$5 to US$8, with the exception of the white truffle gnocchi – if available. That comes in at a cool US$15 and is worth every riel. The restaurant can be hard to find – if you run into trouble tell the tuk-tuk driver you want to go to eat Italy food. If that doesn’t work, tell them to go on the road to Rosy Guesthouse, then keep going straight for another kilometre or so. When you have just about given up ever finding the place and are about to turn around you will see a bamboo fence painted like a massive Italian flag. You’ve arrived at my Eden. Don’t worry about spoiling it. I can always order in.

L’Oasi Italiana, 1 km along East River Road, Tel: 092 418 917