If there is a fast lane for major cities around the world then Phnom Penh is in it. It might not on the face of it have the awe, scale and gravitas of other major cities, but spend any time there and you can feel the energy and excitement of both what is already happening there and what is yet to come.
Phnom Penh is one of the fastest growing cities both in South East Asia and around the world
Phnom Penh, and Cambodia as a whole, have already had to come a long way from what were the darkest of possible days under the horrific Pol Pot regime in the 1970s. It is not possible to visit Phnom Penh today without a harrowing, but respectful and much needed visit to its Killing Fields which only touches the surface of the horrors that happened there, hidden away from the outside world.
It’s a stark juxtaposition to have a city now with a handful of Michelin restaurants and top end bars that are circling and arguably deserve to be in Asia's 50 Best Bars. All offering a standard of service and excellence that, frankly, many top end bars in London, Paris and New York would do well to live up to.
Cambodia - and Phnom Penh’s - key asset is its people. Their natural calmness, a desire to please, and strong sense of community, means they deliver a level of service and hospitality that simply takes your breath away.
It’s a combination of local talent and foreign investment that is driving the hospitality scene right across South East Asia with some of the world’s most exciting and innovative restaurants and bars now in the likes of Singapore, Bangkok, Hot Chin Minh City, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
Brave step
It’s all very different to when Thomas Bianco first decided some 14 years ago at the tender age of 20 to leave the home comforts of France and start his hotel management career in South East Asia. Starting initially in a hotel in Vietnam, before moving to what was a very different Phnom Penh. A city, and country, that was still emerging from under the dark shadow of Pol Pot.
Thomas Born first moved to Phnon Penh nearly 15 years ago and is as inspired and excited by the city and the opportunities it offers as the first day he arrived
The city, though, that has been on the fast track ever since Bianco arrived with local and foreign investment, particularly from China, turning dirt roads into bustling modern highways, surrounded by a growing number of finance and banking towers. Raffles is no longer the only five star hotel in town with most luxury chains now operating in the city.
Bianco says he is still as excited about being in Phnom Penh - and Raffles - since the first day he arrived. “I have not wanted to move anywhere else from the moment I got here. It’s the most beautiful place to live and work.”
He describes Raffles as a “resort in the middle of the city”. A place you can escape to that is “far away from the bustle of the city’.
“The hotel itself has charm and features that are unique. It has its own history and seen for itself the good and very bad times of Cambodia. It’s heart breaking to think of all the stories that have taken place here. It has so much heritage. It's very different to say working in the Sky Bar in Hong Kong.”
Just walking down its corridors is like a step back in time with pictures of US Presidents, and other foreign dignitaries that have stayed there over the years. Pride of pace is a cocktail glass, complete with red lip stick markings, from when Jackie Kennedy paid a visit.
For Raffles Phnom Penh is far more than a hotel. It served as a hospital and then refugee centre during and after the Pol Pot years. It’s been a refuge - and home - for journalists, war correspondents, photographers, foreign ministers of state, diplomats and aid workers throughout its troubled past.
Staying there you feel you are paying your respects to what has gone on before, whilst hopefully being part of its prosperous and healthy future.
The Elephant Bar
The vast, elegant Elephant Bar at Raffles in Phnom Penh's that captures the history and the significance the hotel has played in the city's history
Central to everything that happens at Raffles is the vast, imposing Elephant Bar that captures the very essence of what Raffles Is all about. Just sitting on a stool at the bar and you can feel the history around you - and the glare from the giant elephant’s head above the bar.
This is where Bianco has really found his home: “I trained in sales and marketing at business school which included doing some training in hotels. But sales and marketing was less fun than I thought and so I moved to operations where I found my real passion is for food and beverage.”
A passion that brought him all the way to The Elephant Bar in Raffles Phnom Penh.
“When I first came here I spent the first two to three months every night behind bar learning about cocktails and how you make them. I loved it. The bar was also a lot smaller in those days and it was so busy.”
Bianco jumped at the chance when the opportunity came to help overhaul the bar operation in 2015, with a vastly expanded bar, a dedicated bar operations program and new drinks and cocktail list all driven by a highly skilled locally trained bar team.
All about gin…
The central theme of the new bar was a specialist focus on gin and Bianco and the bar team have worked together since to build up a list of what is now over 200 different gin brands from around the world, with many from the UK - including a limited edition Sipsmith Raffles 1915.
Seekers is the first craft distillery in Phnom Penh and is very much part of the booming bar scene not only in the city but across Cambodia
The big breakthrough came when a local distillery, Seekers, opened up in 2018 and Bianco was able to work with the distillery team to blend and create unique Raffles recipes and to create its own bespoke Elephant Bar gins using a mix of local ingredients sourced in Cambodia and across South East Asia that are ideal for gin and tonics, martinis and negronis.
“We were able to work with Seekers to find three recipes that can work with a lot of different cocktails. We worked four to five months with Seeker’s master distiller using separate stills with different botanicals and blends in order to get the right balance as some gins in Asia can be very strong in flavour depending on the botanicals they use,” says Bianco.
They then tested the blends in different styles of drink to see what worked best for a gin and tonic (easy drinking, smooth style), or a martini (a good sipping blend), or negroni (more smokier style), or an aged gin for different styles of cocktail.
“Other than juniper, that we have to import, we are only using local Cambodian ingredients like ginger and lemongrass. We also make our own bottled gins and negronis and give guests the chance to take something home with them.”
The hotel bar also offers a number of gin experiences at the Elephant Bar - including a private two hour tasting and a chance to taste through as many of the 50 main gin brands on offer.
“It’a s fun and interactive way for people to really discover gin and all the different styles there are. You can also make your own drinks, try your own blends with different tonics, smell all the botanicals. People come in groups and it is good fun thing to do,” explains Bianco.
As if by magic: Thomas Bianco shows how adding a few butterfly pea flowers to a gin and tonic can turn the drink blue...all part of the gin experience at Raffles Phnom Penh
“We also have our own botanical garden at the hotel where we grow herbs and spices including basil, Mexican mint, lemongrass and butterfly pea flowers. We invite people to go out into the garden and pick what they want. It’s all part of our sustainability program.”
Butterfly pea flowers are particularly popular as they will turn your gin and tonic blue if you pop them into the glass - as he promptly showed me.
“We do cooking classes as well where you can go and pick your own herbs.”
Team work
All these efforts with the bar and its bespoke range of spirits would not work if it was not supported by its well trained bar team.
“We have a very good young bar team here most of whom we have trained ourselves,” says Bianco. “They have really taken it on and made it their own.”
They also have their part to play in promoting the bar with their friends and to get a more diverse, younger audience to come in and try and change the Elephant Bar’s reputation as being more of a home for older hotel guests and embassy staff.
Jason Jump is fast making a name for himself as one of South East Asia's leading bar figures
A key member of the bar team is Jason Jump who is fast gaining a reputation as one of the country’s and Asia’s rising mixologists.
“We give him the time to go and visit other cities and bars, particularly in Singapore and Thailand, and do guest shifts so he gets the experience of working there, meeting other people and trying different recipes, products and techniques,” says Bianco. “He has brought a different vision to the bar.”
Bars and distillers
The thriving cocktail and bar scene across Phnom Penh means there are now a number of suppliers for Bianco and his team to work with.
“They try to find new gins to bring in, and we are always looking when we travel,” he adds. “It’s good for the importers to have a place like this where they can sell their gins. More people are getting interested in gin and what we have to offer. They also particularly like the fact there is now a local gin now being made.”
Mawsim has created its own craft distillery and bar concept in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh also now has its own rum distillery, Samai and a local distillery and bar concept called Mawsim that also specialises in its own gins crafted from local herbs, spices and peppers.
“There are also more specialist drinks importers here now than there used to be. Like Alchemy Cambodia, or The First Pour who have a good collection. It’s also very easy to get an import licence here compared to Vietnam and Thailand. We also have some good wine shops as well,” explains Bianco.
All of which are helping to fuel a fast growing bar scene across the city, popular with ex=pats, locals and tourists, he says.
“There are a lot of good bars opening up and there is a lot of interest amongst younger people to try them out. There is also a lot more creativity in the bars and a big cocktail culture emerging.”
Across Cambodia's major cities you can find inspiring cocktail bars like here at Bar 43 in Siem Reap which are helping to train a new generation of bar talent that is emerging across South East Asia
Bianco says the arrival of Asia’s 50 Best Bars has really had an impact right across the region and there is a healthy rivalry to try and get a listing from Cambodia.
“It’s good for visibility and for people travelling from abroad. It is sad we don’t have a bar in Cambodia in the Top 50 yet but there is such huge potential here."
There is, though, Cambodia Top 30 Bar Awards which includes the Elephant Bar and again helping to support - and reward - the thriving bar scene across the country.
Free reign
Despite being part of a global luxury hotel chain - which is a brand in itself - there is no central buying when it comes to the bar operation with each hotel given the freedom to source drinks from local suppliers and create their own identity.
It means Bianco and his team have been able to put together their own beverage program and work with the suppliers and products they think are right for Raffles Phnom Penh.
“There are things that all the hotels have in common. Like we all have our own variation on a Sling cocktail. After the Singapore Sling. But it means every bar is different and you are free to be as creative as you want. It is a really good way to bring people together and connect with them.”
The bar team at Raffles Phnom Penh work together to create new cocktails and bring new products into the range based on what their guests are asking for and what they are seeing in other bars and venues
That team approach also applies to taking on new brands and products. They taste as a team to pick out the drinks they think will work in the Elephant Bar in particular.
“It’s not an exact science. They know what is trending. They are the ones that are close to our guests and what they are looking for.”
As well as its strong gin collection the Elephant Bar also has an extensive whisky range driven mainly by Scottish malts, but there are also a number of Japanese and American whiskies too.
“There is a big affinity with brands in Cambodia. So Macallan is in big demand. Dalmore is very big here too. It is very much a status thing. We have people who will drink Macallan with dinner.”
As a luxury destination it is important to have the most sought after brands available as well, says Bianco. “It is important for us to get the high end customers coming here.”
It has been able to put on a number of successful tasting and food and wine pairing nights with the likes of Opus One and Chivas Regal.
“We will fly in famous Michelin star and celebrity chefs to do special dinners and that can drive a lot of interest and revenue for us. There is a growing high end Cambodian customer, for example, who will ring up and for a table in the restaurant and ask specifically for the most expensive wine to be served. That’s the way it is for some people in Cambodia now.”
He adds: “It’s very different to 15 years ago when most roads were dirt roads and there were no street lights after 6pm. It has changed so much in those 15 years.”
The new Cambodia
Thomas Bianco has been able to see for himself the huge changes that have taken place in Phnon Penh in the last 15 yearst but also how much more confident its younger generation now is compared to when he first arrived
Bianco is perfectly placed to have seen for himself the emergence of the new Cambodia which is now the number one fastest growing economy by GDP (a rise of 6.1% in 2024) in South East Asia.
“It is interesting to see how all these big cities in South East Asia are growing,” he adds. “The pace of change is so much faster here. I love that side of things here where you have the sense that everything is possible. That it is only going to get better and better. Go to Bangkok and that is what Phnom Penh will be like in two years. Look at Hoi Chin Minh City compared to 15 years ago. They are all going in the same direction.”
He thinks Cambodia is particularly well placed to grow as it is so easy to do business and it is not held back by corruption and bureaucracy.
“You can start a business here and grow very fast. If you have money you can practically do what you want. There are going to be more five star hotels here than there are in Hoi Chin Minh City. It is also driven by people who want to have the best hotels here. They want it now and they want it to grow.”
He adds: “Fifteen years ago and the younger generation was very shy and not very confident. The younger generation now are a lot more dynamic and proud of what they have. You have to remember what anyone over 60 would have been through. It still hurts and is still very much in the minds of the people.”
It’s also why there is such a strong sense of community and wanting to work together for a better, prosperous future.
“There is also a common sense amongst the people they want to have long standing peace here. There a lot of banners in the street that say ‘Peace’. It was only in 1997 that there was a coup here. Now there are no guns. The people are so welcome and so genuine. Every year you see things that are getting better and it gives me the motivation to want to stay.”
He is not alone and we can expect to see more major South East Asian cities not just follow but take the lead when it comes to high end, creative hospitality.
* You can find out more about Raffles Phnom Penh at its website here.
