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Located in one of Phnom Penh’s most luxurious and historical hotels, Raffles le Royal, sophisticated Café Monivong unsurprisingly offers something well out of the ordinary. In fact, their buffet dinner is rather to die for.

Offered every night between 6pm and 10pm, the buffet dinners are not exactly cheap, but the fine dining experience is so scrumptious it is without a doubt worth splurging out on. On Saturday evenings, Café Monivong offers an Italian-themed night. For US$25+ you are treated to a variety of Italian and other dishes, all delectably presented. Start with the salad bar, which also includes a range of North African and Middle Eastern cuisine, move on to the cold selection of vegetables, seafood and meats, and return for melt-in-your-mouth sushi and sashimi before progressing on to the hot courses. The sushi and sashimi are particularly good, making it difficult to move on, but with eight changing hot dishes on offer in addition to all the Italian dishes and desserts waiting for you, try not dwell on the Japanese delicacy for too long.

Out of the hot dishes, the braised veal’s cheek had our dinner party raving, while the vegetable dishes are tasty in their simplicity and not overcooked. Saturday night’s specialties are however the home-cooked pizza, as well as the pasta and risotto ‘action stations’. For the latter two, diners can watch the food being freshly prepared and dictate which ingredients will be used. For the pasta, you have a choice of four sauces and variety of vegetables and ham, as well as an assortment of pre-cooked Barilla pasta. There’s less choice when it comes to the risotto. Though the dish is flavoursome, the lack of cheesy, creamy smoothness is somewhat disappointing.

The dining experience is completed with a wonderful assortment of cheeses, and a selection of desserts that will fool anyone with a sweet tooth to think they are in heaven. On Italian night, desserts include chocolate mousse, tiramisu, trifle, chocolate pralines, meringue, fresh fruit and ice cream. The real challenge is to make sure you pace yourself on the other courses to leave space for these treats. No Italian dinner, or any fine dining experience for that matter, is complete without complementing wines. At Café Monivong, a free flow of six different Italian wines is yours for US$16++. It represents fabulous value for money, and the staff are available to ensure you are drinking the right wine with each dish.

In addition to Italian night, Café Monivong also hosts meat-centred Prime Tuesday buffets (US$28+), Succulent Seafood Fridays (US$28+), and Wake Up and Smell Sunday brunches (US$26+, 11.30am-2.30pm) featuring free flowing Singapore Sling. Buffet dinners on other nights cost US$25+ and the US$16++ wine buffet is available on Tuesdays and Fridays too. Children between 6-12 years of age eat for half price, while kids younger than six eat for free. To make the most of your Raffles experience, go as early as possible, as the buffet closes promptly at 10pm.

Café Monivong, Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Street 95, Phnom Penh, Tel: 023 981 888

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