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An Introduction to Italian Wine, Part I

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Italy has been producing wine for thousands of years. And you’ll be able to taste the fruit of all that knowledge and experience soon at Siena Italian Steakhouse. With Siena Italian Steakhouse opening its doors soon at the stupendous Flatiron Building in northern Phnom Penh, we thought it would be a good idea to offer a brief series introducing the delights of Italian wines, from the history to understanding the designations on the labels, and some of the more widely used grapes. Wine is so fundamental to Italy’s history that, in every direction, the borders of the Roman Empire stopped where wine could no longer be made. It remains a fundamental part of modern-day life in Italy too. Italy still produces more wine than anywhere else, including France. It is a world that is very much worthy of discovery.     The principles of winemaking were brought to Italy by the Ancient Greeks who renamed the southern part of the country Oenotria, or ‘Land of the Staked Vines’. The Italians took to wine with even more enthusiasm than the Greeks did, and it soon became a daily staple for all, not just the elites. Taking it with them wherever they travelled (or, more precisely, conquered), it was the Romans who established some of the greatest wine producing regions of today, including Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire and the Mosel. Wine served multiple purposes within the Empire, including an object of trade with local tribes that was helpful for winning them to the Roman cause. While early methods were cruder than today, the Romans did set about formalising and improving production as far back as 2000 years ago. According to Neel Burton’s Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting, Cato the Elder’s De Agri Cultura from 160BC emphasised vineyard care, fruit ripeness and cellar hygiene among other things, and long served as the standard guide to winemaking. In De Re Rustica, created around the 15th century, Columella surveyed the main grape varieties and divided them into three main groups: noble varieties for great Italian wines, high yielding varieties that can nonetheless produce age-worthy wines, and prolific varieties for ordinary table wine. Wine is produced from the top to the bottom of Italy, with 20 distinct regions across the mainland and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Of these, the most important in terms of quality are Piedmont, Tuscany and Veneto, and we will talk about those soon. You will find each of these regions generously represented on Siena’s Wine List, and we’ll talk more about each of those next month.

May: a Merry Month of Celebrations in Cambodia

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As things, hopefully, start to cool down a little bit, preparations are underway for the new season to come, and for Buddha’s Birthday… On 5th May this month we celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha with Visak Bochea Day, making it the most important and sacred commemoration in contemporary Buddhist calendars. The date in Cambodia is set to accord with the 15th day of the waxing (growing) moon of the month of Magha, which is the 11th month of the Hindu calendar, corresponding to January/February in the Gregorian calendar. However, different countries use different formulas to calculate the day on which this celebration falls, so you may notice different days elsewhere where the birth of the Buddha is celebrated. One of the most important things remembered on this day is the Buddha’s final sermon which he gave at Kushingar in Uttar Pradesh in 483BC. During this sermon, the Buddha announced his Nirvana and reminded his followers to be content with their state of being, to renounce their desires, meditate, to practice non-attachment because all existence is fleeting and attachment to anything is wasteful, and to forget him, the Buddha, but to remember his teachings. Those that were present there that day were ordained by the Buddha and are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Assembly. But notwithstanding the solemnity of the moment, Visak Bochea Day is a day for joy and celebration, while also tending to good deeds and practical things, such as temple cleaning, painting and creating scenes from the life of the Buddha. In recognition of Buddha’s enlightenment, there may also be illuminated processions in which candles, incense sticks and lotus flowers are carried around a temple or pagoda three times in order to honour the Buddha, his teachings and the monastic life (Sangha). This month, we also celebrate the arrival of the rice planting season with a ploughing ceremony which also serves as a predictor for the productivity of the season ahead. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony can be traced back to long before the time of the Angkor Empire and to the Funan period, from the 1st to the 6th century, making it one of the oldest traditions followed in Cambodia. The ceremony’s roots can in fact be traced back to the Reamker, Cambodia’s epic poem based on the famed Sanskrit Ramayana. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony usually coincides with the start of the rainy season and people use it to come together to celebrate and wish for an abundant harvest. The focus point of the celebration usually takes on the Veal Preahmein field next to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh where the King oversees prayers to the spirits for their permission and goodwill to work the earth. Offerings are made of rice, grains, water, grass and wine, and a pair of oxen are brought in specially to make their choice among the offerings. If they choose rice or grains, it will be a good year. If they choose water, there will be lots of rain, and if they choose grass then agricultural devastation may be on the cards. This is one of Cambodia’s oldest and most significant festivals. And of course, an opportunity to witness the Ploughing Ceremony should not be missed.

Take a Second Look at that Wine Label…

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There may be more to it than meets the eye. When it comes to wine, consumers are confronted with a dizzying array of choices from a vast number of producers, large and small, from all over the world. France alone has more than 85,000 wine growers, either independent vignerons each producing under their own label, or producers that sell their grapes to regional cooperatives such as the 33 that exist in Bordeaux. Moreover, unlike other products, wine brands do not typically advertise to their consumers. This means that, in the absence of specific knowledge, many of us tend to rely solely on the price when it comes to choosing wines. We are also heavily dependent upon the label on the bottle to convey information that we need when we make our choice. This means that a wine’s label is incredibly important to us, as well as to the producers. While wine labels necessarily convey key information such as the brand or producer, the country and region where it was produced, the vintage (year it was produced), a quality indication such as Grand Cru, and, sometimes, the variety, or varieties, of grapes used, it is also necessary for the label to convey something even more fundamental, and that is the wine’s character, or personality. In fact, wine producers may have been the very first “brands” in the world. Wine amphorae dating as far back 1500BCE which have been discovered at the bottom of the Aegean Sea were found to carry identification marks which would have distinguished their contents from other products, as well perhaps as other producers. Today, wine labels need to do much more than communicate specific information. They need to set up the framework for a relationship between the consumer and the producer that will encourage the consumer to select them above all of the dozens (even hundreds) of other bottles that might be available to them at a particular moment in time. That’s quite a task for a medium that is typically just 9cm by 10cm. But what wine producers have learned — alongside car, computer and jeans brands — is that people often buy products that reflect their concepts of themselves. “Consumers shop for meaning, not for stuff”, in other words. This presents a huge opportunity for wine producers to paint their brands large on this tiny tableau, and anyone sober enough to pay attention over the last twenty years will have noticed the revolution in wine label design that has come about as markets have expanded and spread across the world. Helping consumers to understand the flavour of what is contained in the bottle is one way of setting up a relationship that will trigger a purchase. The label can do this in a number of ways, including the colours, graphic elements and even the texture of the label itself. Light, airy shapes, forms and colours might indicate a light, airy white wine, for example. This information is often conveyed without the consumer even being aware that this is happening, or that the questions he is asking (“what am I going to drink with my chicken dinner this evening?”) are being answered. In relation to texture, a heavy label paper would immediately indicate that a wine of quality is to be found within the glass walls of the bottle. But the producer might want to tell a different story, particularly if they come from legacy wine producing regions such as Bordeaux. These producers, assuming that the consumer is somewhat familiar with the character of their wines, might wish to emphasise their comforting relationships with tradition, culture and the land. There is so much potential for so much storytelling even on the tiny piece of paper that the typical wine label is made of. So the next time you’re browsing an array of wines, take a moment to check out the designs, the colours, textures and forms, and think about what they’re saying, and why one may be appealing to you more than others. It might help you to choose more consciously the next time.

A Glimpse of What’s to Come at Siena…

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The flavours of an Italy you’ve never imagined are coming to you soon at Siena. Opening soon, Siena Italian Steakhouse at the Flatiron Building in Phnom Penh is dedicated to bringing you the best of real Italian cooking, representing centuries of tradition from the north and south of the country. Our Executive Chef, Giuseppe Napoletano, Pino to his friends, has spent almost 40 years refining his skills in kitchens all over the world, and his dedication to original recipes using the best ingredients in order to bring you the sublime, authentic flavours of Italy is just one mark of his passion for his work. But that’s not to say that he doesn’t allow himself to get creative from time to time, which is the secret behind one of the trade mark dishes that you’ll find at Siena: Slow Cooked Crispy Eggs with Asparagus and Leek. This is an intricate dish, that is painstaking and time-consuming to prepare, but we think the rewards are worth it. And it also combines a variety of cooking styles, from slow-cooking the eggs at a low temperature for 50 minutes so that they cook through while keeping a silky texture. Then they’re left to settle in flat rice for a day before being wrapped in rice and deep-fried, so that silly egginess is matched by the crisp and crunchy exterior. It would be perfect just there, but there is more. The egg is set on a puff-pastry crust with a cream of asparagus and leek to add a softer crisp, and smooth, creamy earthiness of the vegetables. A marriage of tastes, textures and colours that we think is perfection on a plate. On a more traditional tack, one of Chef Pino’s favourite dishes is Risotto, one of those things that looks simple but in reality is far from it. Risotto is made from a medium to long-grain fino or superfino rice grown in the north of Italy, and the key to success lies in the attention and experience of the chef. The rice cooks in a stock that is introduced gradually over the cooking process, each ladleful being added as the last one is absorbed by the grains. It should also be stirred in order to help break up the starches that give the finished dish its luscious creaminess, but not too much, or all that creaminess will be lost. Chef Pino has gone to great lengths to source the very best risotto rice that Italy produces, and you’ll find it on Siena’s menu prepared with Shellfish, Courgette Pesto, a sweet Black Garlic Cream and Lime. Sublime… And for the sweeter things in life, we fall back again on Chef Pino’s creative side. It is an Italian Chocolate Ganache with Italian Black Rum, Almond Cookies and Raspberry and Mandarine Jelly (gelatine). Chef Pino came up with this delight as a way of bringing together all of his favourite things in one dessert, and he named it 1969, in honour of his birthday. We’re looking forward to celebrating your birthdays and more at Siena. Watch this space!

Bottoms Up! A Toast to Cambodia’s Finest Flavours

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In love with the fresh, vibrant flavours of Cambodian cuisine, but not sure what drink to pair with it? We have the ultimate answer: more of those incredible flavours, of course! Some people get themselves in a muddle trying to work out which wines to drink with Cambodian food. And it’s true that there are plenty of wines that pair beautifully with the fresh, herby and vibrant flavours of Cambodian Cuisine. But one of the best ways to really get the best out of your meal is to pair it up with something that’s been specifically created to reflect and complement those flavours, such as one of our Malis Signature Cocktails. One of those, the Malis Sweet & Sour combines the flavours of one of our favourite dishes, Sweet & Sour Soup, with the distinctive kick of that classic cocktail, the Mojito. Made with tamarind paste, palm sugar, sweet basil, kaffir lime and lemongrass, this delicious and refreshing rum cocktail is the perfect partner for enjoying with almost anything on our menu, but we think it’s especially good with a Green Mango and Smoked Fish Salad or the Kep Flower Crab Fried Rice. We created these cocktails to show the range and versatility of Cambodian flavours and to represent them in a fresh light. Of course, you can also simply enjoy them on their own, and there are few better spots for doing that than in the elegant grandeur of Malis in Siem Reap’s Chhatra Lounge. Drop by Malis Siem Reap at 6pm any evening for our Happy Hour, and enjoy our buy-one-get-one free. It’s a great opportunity to explore some of the other unique cocktails we’ve concocted to reflect and perfect Cambodian Cuisine’s bounty of flavour, or simply to savour on their own. Chhoul-Mouy!

Spring, Sprang, Sprung: Lamb is in the Air!

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_Easter and lamb go together like Prahok and Aubergine. Where will you be celebrating yours? In the West, spring is many people’s favourite time of year. After an often long, cold, wet, windy and dark winter, the evenings start to brighten as the days lengthen, the chill factor drops to a gentle warmth — in the middle of the day anyway — delicate white and pink blossoms add a soft-scented decoration to bare tree branches, trees and hedgerows start to fill with birdsong, and everyone starts to feel a little more optimistic about the world. It’s glorious. But one of the biggest markers of spring is the appearance of little balls of white wool gambolling around the fields; it’s lambing season. Lamb has never really enjoyed the same cachet as beef and we think this is a gross injustice that punishes the judgers not the judged, because lamb is an infinitely more sophisticated meat, and it happens to be healthier too. While beef is known for its heavy, iron-rich flavour, lamb’s gamier flavour manages to be both lighter in one sense, but also more complex, sometimes more robust, and frankly it offers an altogether finer experience. Lamb’s full flavour comes from the fact that it is slightly fattier than beef (no fat = no flavour = no point in carrying on). However, despite having more fat, and slightly more calories, than beef, lamb is a healthier option because it contains more heart-healthy omega-3s than either grass or grain-fed beef. We will write about the libelling of fat another time. When baked to a golden crisp, lamb fat is one of those things that can rapidly become addictive. So, with that, one of the best signs that spring is here is finding yourself sitting down to a deliciously light but earthy bowl of Navarin d’Agneau, an emblematic springtime dish that brings together tender lamb and fresh spring vegetables in a deliciously light broth, and manages to be simple and sublime all at once. You’ll find our version of this perennial favourite at Khéma. On the other hand, if you prefer something with a little more heft and style, you can always enjoy a gorgeous Rack of Lamb, with a savoury potato tart and glazed spring vegetables, or a truly magnificent Baked Lamb Fillet in Puff Pastry at Topaz, two of our favourite dishes and the mark of a true sophisticate and flavour connoisseur. One of the most important Christian holidays all over the world, Easter will be Celebrated on April 9 this year. Commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, this feast holds a deep spiritual significance, but is also appreciated for its more secular values too, especially the occasion to get together with friends and family for a beautiful meal which, more often than not, is centred around lamb. Lamb has symbolic significance as a representation of Jesus Christ, the “Lamb of God” who sacrificed his life for the sins of all. It has over centuries become a symbol of renewal and new beginnings, but also of purity and goodness, and ultimately of course, of sacrifice, an echo of Jesus’s sacrifice of his own life. But the importance of lamb at this time of year predates even the story of the Resurrection and goes back to the story of the Passover, celebrated every year by Jews all over the world in commemoration of the freeing of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Lamb entered the traditional Passover menu thanks to the biblical story found in the book of Exodus, where Jews in Ancient Egypt had to smear lamb’s blood on their doorposts to avoid a plague of God. When early Jews — who celebrated Passover by eating lamb to mark this occasion — converted to Christianity, they took this meal with them to celebrate Easter. Furthermore, lamb’s availability as an accessible meat after winter months with no livestock to slaughter would also encourage our ancestors to serve up a few lamb legs to celebrate. In France, lamb’s significance can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was a luxurious dish saved for the very wealthy. So if you’re looking to celebrate Easter this year, or simply looking to try something new and delicious, then we can heartily recommend a trip to Khéma or Topaz to try out our beautiful lamb dishes.

Are your Easter Eggs delivered by a Bunny or a Bell?

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It turns out that the Easter Bunny doesn’t have a monopoly on the Easter-Egg delivery market… Easter Sunday commemorates the day on which Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being crucified for blasphemy. This is a double day of rejoicing for Christians for there is not only the resurrection of Christ to celebrate, but also the end of the 40-day Lenten fast. This time also coincides with the beginning of spring, which brings with it its own manifestations of renewal and rebirth that are so fundamental to the Christian Easter celebrations. There is a huge range of special foods associated with the Easter but, rather unsurprisingly, one of the most loved is the chocolate Easter Egg. The traditions around Easter Eggs go back thousands of years. Throughout history, peoples all over the world have given eggs during spring festivals in order to mark the change of seasons, and the tradition goes back long before Christians adopted it. As with spring, eggs are powerful symbols of rebirth and renewal and were gifted for this reason. This practice was adopted by the Church and it wasn’t long before the Easter Egg became an iconic symbol of Easter in the West, though these were not yet the chocolate eggs we know and love today. For a long time, the eggs given would have been hard-boiled eggs that were painted or decorated in beautiful colours that added to the sense of occasion. Somehow along the way though, things got a little bit peculiar. In America, the Easter Bunny appeared around about the 18th century most likely arriving on those shores with German immigrants. The Easter Bunny would go to children’s homes and either leave eggs behind or, rather mischievously, take the eggs that were already in the house and hide them so the children would have to hunt them down on Easter Sunday. The original Easter Bunny often had the same clipboard as Santa Claus, with two columns defining whether the children had been “naughty or nice”. However, that seems to be less the case now, and he just shows up with armfuls of eggs before dashing off to the next house. And if you think he sounds strange, well, the French would like to have a word with you. The Easter Bunny doesn’t travel much to France, except for a small part on the northeastern border, close to Germany. Instead, the French have flying bells. To be honest, we were afraid to look into the origins of this one, but can tell you that on the Thursday before Easter Sunday, all the church bells in France go silent and will not ring again until Sunday. Well, they’re not really being “silent”, they’re probably making a huge racket as they fly, suitcase in hand, to Rome. It’s just that no one in France can hear them anymore. While “in Rome”, the Flying Bells go to the market, obviously, and load up on chocolate before making they way back to France. And as they do, they drop their chocolatey treats at the houses of children along their path. Deliveries made, the exhausted bells can curl up in their belfries ready to ring in Easter the next morning. And then when the children hear the bells ringing, they run outside to hint down the goodies that the Easter Bells have hidden for them. We don’t have flying bells or an Easter Bunny at Khéma. But we DO have an awful lot of utterly delicious, beautifully prepared Easter Eggs for you and your children to enjoy. Drop by to see the range, and find out whether you prefer the Bunny or the Bell.

Khmer New Year Highlights Connections Between East and West

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One of Cambodia’s most eagerly awaited celebrations is coming up this month, with Khmer New year (Choul Chnam Thmei) that will run for three days from 14 to 16 April. The festivities begin on the first day, Moha Sangkran, with ritual cleaning of house and body, a washing away of the year just passed and freshening for the year to come. Thanks are given to the Buddha for what has been, and for blessings yet to come, and time is taken to connect with family, honour ancestors and enjoy traditional feasts, games and ceremonies. It also marks the end of one harvest season, as farmers and workers enjoy the fruits of their labour. But why does New Year’s Day take place now? The clue is in the name, and it also shows us how Eastern and Western traditions are not so far apart as some might think. Sangkran is a derivative of the Sanskrit word Sankranti which refers to the migration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. Within India, Nepal and elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, it is a harvest festival that marks the end of winter solstice and the beginning of the sun’s journey northwards, bringing longer days and warmer weather. As here, Sangkranti is a time for joy and celebration among families, with gifts, games and traditional rituals. That means that the beginning of each month in the Hindu calendar is Sankranti, but not all are celebrated in the same way and Mesha Sankranti (from which Moha Sangkran is derived) is one of the most important, marking the beginning of the New Year as the sun moves into Aries, which generally falls on 14 or 15 April, and is the first day of the solar cycle year. Anyone who follows Western astrology now knows why Aries is always listed first. In the west, we follow a tropical calendar based on the seasons, which is why our New Year falls on January 1, though that is a relatively recent phenomenon for which we can thank the Romans. Until 700BCE, our New Year was celebrated in March, in line with the spring equinox. But if you examine contemporary Western language used to describe this period of the sun moving into Aries, you’ll find it has a great deal in common with Cambodian beliefs about this time of year. It is a time of energy, renewal, change and transformation, a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. It is also about sheep! Aries is signified by the ram, or male sheep. So you see, we’re not so different after all.

How to register your restaurant in just 8 days

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A new guide from the Cambodia Restaurant Association shines a much-needed light into the maze of rules and regulations you need to be aware if your restaurant is to be compliant. The Cambodia Restaurant Association has published a 150-page guidebook on setting up a restaurant business in Cambodia that is compliant with all laws and regulations, in just eight days. Titled “Create Your Restaurant Enterprise in 8 Days”, the guide offers a comprehensive map through the entire regulatory terrain of business licensing, registration and overall compliance concerning restaurant businesses in Cambodia. As such, it is an invaluable resource not just for those who are looking to set up a new business, but also for those who have established businesses but are confused by the current legal landscape. The guide, which is available in English and Khmer, covers everything from registration, e-commerce compliance, taxation, employment, health and safety, licensing, fire safety, domain name registration, environmental protection and then Endowment Fund, and finally handicraft permits. The comprehensive guide has broken down legal obligations according to the government department overseeing different aspects of running a business, and then goes into detail about the nature of those obligations, and how to comply with them. Flowcharts offer a visual representation of the processes, including the decisions that need to be made along the way, which helps enormously in seeing the proper way forward, and also to envisioning the end in sight! The Cambodia Restaurant Association is a non-profit business association created in order to support the restaurant industry in Cambodia and to give a voice to their collective needs and concerns for the benefit of all. We think this will be an essential guide for anyone and everyone in the business, and urge you to pick

Spotlight: Khantei Sok, Your GM at Khéma La Poste

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She’s a familiar face to many of you, and she has a great story to tell. [Adapted from an article in Cambodge Mag: https://www.cambodgemag.com/post/gastronomie-parcours-khantei-sok-et-la-ferme-ambition-de-réussir International Women’s Day gave us on an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the hundreds of women who all play essential roles within Thalias Hospitality Group and what it has become today. One of those, Khantei Sok, sat down with the editor of Cambodge Mag to talk about her own evolution. Born in Phnom Penh, Khantei grew up in a disruptive environment that did not encourage dreaming about one’s future, much less that she might one day become an Alumni Ambassador for Pour un Sourire d’Enfant, the NGO that gave her a head-start in life. But she did know that she had to commit to whatever she was doing, especially in her professional life. “When I was younger and studying, I didn’t really have any particular desire for my future, I just knew that I had to work hard, learn English and then get by,” she said. The hard work paid off. With brilliant results in hand, she was offered a place as a trainer for PSE’s training restaurants, Lotus Blanc, of which there were two at the time. There she taught the elements and techniques of catering for almost five years and then, in 2016, an irresistible opportunity to travel to Toulouse, France, for a training trip arose. “I really enjoyed the experience. I learned some French, maybe not enough to carry on a conversation, but enough to understand and respond to French-speaking clients during my work,” she said. Her experiences so far meant she knew she wanted to pursue a career in hospitality, and within that, to work for a large group. Topaz was her first choice. “I knew the Topaz restaurant and I wanted to work there. Alain Darc [Topaz’s consultant-chef] was a technical advisor at PSE and in 2017 he gave me the opportunity to join the team”. But after completing her training at Topaz and Khéma Pasteur, Khantei’s hard work and dedication meant she was ready for a challenge. “Today, I am the general manager of Khéma La Poste and I work directly with Lina Hak, our operations manager for the brand,” she said. Such responsibility is not always easy. Khantei is aware of the constraints of the restaurant business, but stresses that she has also learned the good things about it. “I like my job because I simply love this business. I love the contact with people, I love gastronomy, I’m quite a fan of French food and wine personally. “My favourite French dish would probably be coq au vin. I also like charcuterie a lot. At the beginning it was not spontaneous, I had to learn to taste this very European food”, she added. As for the constraints, she takes them with a smile, aware that she works in a profession where she has to adapt to the clientele and the number of people in the establishment. “I have hours that have to be adjusted to the restaurant’s activity. We have many customers, especially at the weekend, and I have to be available. That’s all there is to it.” In the mornings, she assists her team to ensure that everything is in place and smoothly running for breakfast, and then again for lunch and dinner. She runs a daily meeting to discuss the previous day’s operations, to look at what went well and what can be improved. In total, 48 employees work for this establishment. We asked if she thinks she’s a little young to be leading a team that includes long-time employees and older people? Not really, she says with a smile. “It’s true that I’m young to lead a big team, but there’s a very good spirit between us and it’s going pretty well,” she said. Finally, when asked about her future plans, Khantei answers unambiguously that she wants to continue her career with the Thalias group, a company that continues to grow and for which she says she is proud to work. With Covid-19, there has been a sharp drop in restaurant business and Khéma has not escaped the trend. Kanthei explained, “At first we saw a big drop in patronage due to fear of the virus. Then we put in place the safety measures that everyone now knows: temperature checks at the entrance, hand disinfection, table spacing. “And these precautions apply to customers as well as to restaurant employees and delivery staff. In the middle of May 2020, customers started to return. Even if the number of customers did not reach the level of the good old days, the restaurant was back to a very regular business. We have a lot of promotional products such as free-flow, which work very well. We communicate a lot about our promotions and this also encourages regulars to come back,” she said, adding that it helps that Khéma’s pastries and bread have the reputation of being the best in the capital. Outside of work, Khantei says she spends time with her mother, with whom she still lives, and also regularly visits her father, who lives in the provinces. In her spare time, she admits to having a soft spot for the music of Sinn Sisamouth, the Cambodian crooner of the 60s and 70s, and to enjoying watching local comedies. Travel? She has been lucky enough to travel to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, but mainly for business trips. “I love to travel, I had the opportunity to visit Paris and I found the city wonderful. On the other hand, I can’t see myself living anywhere else but in my native country,” concluded the young woman.