Royalty, Glitz and Good Eating

Perfect view of the central area of the Royal grounds.

I began my exploration of Phnom Penh by visiting two very divergent hot spots – The Royal Palace and NagaWorld, the one and only hotel/casino in town.

The grounds of the Royal Palace are beautiful and where the King and his family really do live. I expected guards everywhere but there aren’t even many attendants, at least on the day I visited, which happened to be the anniversary of the King’s coronation. Things were so slow all around and I felt like I had the place pretty much to myself. 

The model in the foregroind is Angkor Wat.

There’s too much history on the site for me to explain everything (probably not particularly well) so I’ll refer you to the link at the bottom of the page for more information. However, here are some photos of the sheer beauty of the place. 

The lobby at NagaWorld.

Bistro Romano

After about two hours of wandering the Royal grounds, I headed to NagaWorld for little slot action and an Italian meal at the Bistro Romano, a well-reviewed restaurant in the hotel portion of the huge resort. I lost a little bit, took pictures galore and then asked 5 or 6 people where the Italian restaurant was. Finally one of the very elegant-looking concierges led the way to the escalator to food heaven. There were several quite distinctive eateries to choose from, but I was hell-bent on some tasty pasta. Mission accomplished – with a wonderfully creamy ham and mushroom pasta and bread basket with yummy roasted veggie purees for dipping.  

Robert brought me this fabulous mac & cheese.

The next day, with my appetite for pasta piqued, I went two doors down to the Lazy Gecko restaurant for an amazing mac & cheese lunch accompanied by smiles and conversation with Robert!

Breadbasket at Bistro Romano

Mac & Cheese at Lazy Gecko

Terrific website for more information about the Royal Palace