AsiaLIFE

A visit to Restaurant 112 and you feel like you’ve stepped into some kind of lost colonial luxury watering hole. If, upon entering, you feel a funny sense of deja vu, it is not your imagination.

The restaurant design is a copy of the Elephant Bar at Raffles, that other colonial hotspot on the adjacent block. From the white leather banquettes and wrought iron lamps, to the vaulted ceilings and arched windows looking out over a turquoise courtyard pool, the sense of refinement and elegance is palpable. Framed black and white photographs of Cambodia's storied past through the turn of the century further this atmosphere. Many high-end, upscale establishments have popped up around town that cater to well-heeled Khmers and expats taking advantage of their newfound status as the glitterati, and trying to find new ways to spend their salaries. After all, for many Phnom Penh feels like the ultimate fantasy land, where everything is possible, or at least affordable. So what better way to live it up than in plush style before the economy truly bottoms out or we have to trudge back home to the glories of grey, anonymous, middle-class existence.

Enter Restaurant 112 into this scene, though what sets it apart is its attention to detail and insistence on importing the highest quality food and creating a first class experience for its customers. While the restaurant has gone through many changes – it started off as Restaurant 102, then became Restaurant 192, and has now settled on the hopefully auspicious numeral title of Restaurant 112 – its excellent food and loyal customers have remained. Its other main asset, behind the scenes of all this glamour, is a dedicated, determined staff led by Executive Chef Tep Chantha and the manager, Vanna Thoeun.

How does the son of rice farmers from Takeo province end up as the executive chef of one of Phnom Penh's most exclusive restaurants? Chantha came to Phnom Penh for school, and then found work as a sous chef during the restaurant’s 102 days. He wasn't sure that restaurant work was right for him, but as soon as he started he became hooked and was determined to advance. According to Vanna, the long-time manager, Chantha was an avid, eager student and hungry to learn everything about the different styles of Western cooking. When asked if he grew up cooking as a child, he laughs and says when he's home, his mother is the executive chef. He slowly moved up the ranks and is now the head chef, a job he enjoys immensely and one he takes great pride in.

"I start with the freshest, best ingredients I can find. For instance, in the French onion soup – if the onions aren't very fresh and high quality, the soup will not be good." It is this respect for the flavours and natural taste of the raw ingredients that ensure the quality of the dishes. His favourite dish – which is also the most popular is the salmon tartare which uses fresh, raw salmon flown in from Japan.

Decor aside, the food is the star attraction here. The list of dishes on offer for lunch often include salmon tartare, Dover sole, Kobe beef, oysters, rack of lamb, sushi, clams and banana cake. The dessert table was loaded with Khmer, French, Spanish and American delicacies, such as chocolate mousse, caramel flan, sticky rice in banana leaf, and assorted cheeses. The food itself may have a busier travel itinerary than a U.N. consultant. Most of the fish is imported from Japan. The oysters, Dover sole, and duck fly in from France. While the beef makes its way here from Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. All wines are provided by Celliers d'Asie and Quarto Products, and Restaurant 112 is now featuring Inky, a wine from France bearing the slogan " Smart and Dark " the latter perhaps not the most compelling marketing concept for this culture, but nevertheless. The thick, dark, dusky – yes, inky – wine is loaded with polyphenols, which purportedly enhance brain activity and offer many other health benefits. Smart wine? Why not. Bottoms up.

Vanna also came to the restaurant through a varied path. He started as a server at a restaurant on the Chroy Changvar peninsula, and also worked his way up, through some of the upscale, Westerns restaurants in Phnom Penh in the 90s. With 17 years of fine dining experience, he says his favourite part of the job is keeping his customers happy. "I love our regular customers, and I've known them for years. I know what they want and it gives me great satisfaction to be able to give them a great ambiance and experience."

One of the biggest differences cited by Vanna and Chantha between the early days and now is the sheer number of restaurants in the city. Being the only game in town – or close to it had its advantages, but now fine dining options abound in the capitol, and the challenge now is to separate themselves from the pack. To that end they are constantly experimenting with the menu, creating new dishes and devising new offerings to appeal to a large audience. One development is a private dining room that Mr. Vanna says is often requested by government ministers. The lunch buffet, at $10 a person, with free flow of soft drinks for $2 and wines at $2 a glass will make this one of the best deals in town. The lunch menu changes daily to keep the various ambassadors and ministers who frequent the establishment happy and satisfied.

"We had some difficulties, after we were closed for 2 years [prior to re-opening as Restaurant 112]," Vanna says. "Some of our customers have returned, but some have not." But as one expat and regular from Norway maintains, it is one of the stand-out restaurants in town. A bold statement given the ever-growing field of opponents.

So, kick back on a white leather couch by the bar with a Singapore Sling in hand, sample the exquisite food and enjoy the fantasy while it lasts.