The best places in Phnom Penh to eat, drink or hide from friends and/or family this Christmas
EATS & TREATS:
Aussie XL: #205a Street 51; 023 301001
Dinner (from noon December 25, $15.95): from noon Roast turkey with stuffing, honey-glazed ham and roast pork; pumpkin and dessert with custard
Doors, Street 84 & 47; 023 986114
Five-course set menu (December 24 & 25, $55) with three glasses of wine
The FCC, 363 Sisowath Quay; 023 724014
Set menu (December 24 & 25, $31.50 – includes glass of sparkling wine): duck starter and chicken terrine; roast turkey; baked Alaska for dessert
Hagar, #44 Street 310; 070 221501
Buffet dinner (December 24 & 25, $20) or lunch buffet (December 25, $17): roast lamb; desserts include cookies and apple pie
Paddy Rice, #213 Sisowath Quay: 023 990321 / 017 773102
Two-course lunch (noon – 2:30pm) and three-course dinner (6 – 8pm December 25, $19.50 and $22.50): glass of Buck’s Fizz; classic prawn cocktail, and traditional roast turkey and ham dinner, with fruit trifle for dessert
Tepui @ Chinese House, #45 Sisowath Quay; 023 991514
Five-course dinner ($55): glass of prosecco; foie gras terrine; seafood bisque; roast sea bass; pork tenderloin; carrot mini-muffins and vanilla ice cream
Raffles Hotel Le Royal, 92 Rukhak Vithea Daun Penh (near Wat Phnom); 023 981888
Market Dinner (6 – 10pm December 24, $110): Smoked salmon, roast turkey, roast beef, cheeses and yule log cake, including drinks
Buffet Brunch (noon – 3pm December 25, $110 or $150/$170 with freeflow Taittinger Brut/Taittinger Rose)
Le Royal Dinner (December 25, $125 with glass of champagne or $175 with five paired wines): seafood platter; rosemary-crusted lamb chops; cheese selection; roasted duckling; tiramisu log
InterContinental Hotel, #296 Mao Tse Tung Boulevard; 023 424888
Dinner (December 24, $38): buffet including turkey, foie gras, smoked salmon and roast lamb with glass of wine
Brunch (December 25, $48): lamb roast, Monte Cristo casserole, roast turkey and smoked salmon, plus a visit from Santa
Sofitel: #26 Old August Site, Sothearos Boulevard; 023 999200
Five-course dinner (December 24, $65): foie gras; smoked apple gelato; red peppers and goat cheese; Mont Blanc cake
Buffet (6 – 10pm December24, $79 – $99): seafood; Christmas carvery; Asian delicacies, sweets and free-flow booze
Brunch (noon – 3pm December 25, $79)
Dinner (6pm – 10pm December 25, $38)
NagaWorld: Hun Sen Park, 023 228822
Buffet dinner (5:30pm – 9:30pm December 24 & 25, $38 – $48): includes beer and wine
ON THE BIG SCREEN:
Bad Santa
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve, but they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid and the security boss discovers the plot. Starring Billy Bob Thornton. 8:30pm December 20 at The Empire, St. 130.
Home Alone
An eight-year-old boy (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas must defend his home against idiotic burglars. 2pm December 22 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
Love Actually
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England. 6pm December 22 and 6:30pm December 23 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
It’s A Wonderful Life
An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. Frank Capra directs James Stewart and Donna Reed. 6:30pm December 22 & 24 at The Empire, St. 130; 8:30pm December 23 & 25 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
Elf
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man (Will Ferrell), raised as an elf at the North Pole, is sent to the US in search of his true identity. 4:30pm December 23 & 2pm December 25 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington, the king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn’t quite understand the concept. Directed by Tim Burton. 8:30pm December 23 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
The Santa Clause
When Tim Allen inadvertently kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place. 4:30pm December 24 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
The Muppets Christmas Carol
The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser’s redemption on Christmas Eve. 6:30pm December 24 at The Flicks 1, St. 95.
Die Hard
John McClane, NYPD officer, tries to save his wife and others taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman star in the daddy of the Christmas action thrillers. 8:30pm December 24 at The Empire, St. 130.
Miracle On 42nd Street
When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalised as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing. 4pm December 25 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
A Christmas Story
Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers and Santa that a Red Ryder BB gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940s. 6:30pm December 25 at The Flicks1, St. 95 and The Flicks2, St. 136.
White Christmas
A successful song-and-dance team become involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former general. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star. 6:30pm December 25 at The Empire, St. 130.
Gremlins
A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town at Christmas. 8:30pm December 25 at The Empire, St. 130.