FCC Phnom Penh

Eating

Breakfast is a generous choice of breads or cereal, followed by warm dishes, Asian or Western. The croissant with lemon curd was passable and eggs Benedict were excellent. A small English fry-up was also flawless. There’s fresh juice and tea or coffee. Indicate your choice at night and you can have it served to your room.

The casual dining menu specialises in clay-oven pizzas. Specials we tried included straightforward Vietnamese duck spring rolls, and fish fillets in a kind of sesame batter with mayonnaise. The latter were fine, but why did they come with both spinach farfalle and a foil-baked potato? The chocolate cassata with vanilla ice cream had a surfeit of coconut flakes at one end and candied fruit at the other. It was all tasty, but not perhaps for people who expect their food to make sense – and given how packed the place gets at dinnertime with expats and tourists alike, not a lot of them do.

A tapas place called Pacharan, 200m to the right, is also part of the empire.

For alternatives, simply wander along the riverfront and see what takes your fancy. To your left is a string of restaurants specialising in the famous ‘happy pizza,’ a phenomenon explained by the bloodshot eyes of the diners. Pop Café, the little Italian two doors down on the right, is getting good reviews for more food-centred food.