We have a Khmer set meal included with our rooms. Do you know if this is served in one particular restaurant, or could we have it on the swings?

(I asked the hotel and they just said the swings and the Meric are very busy over the holidays, so please reserve quickly)

If the set meal is not served on the swings, do you recommend that we book a meal on them anyway?

We'll be trying Red Piano, la Noria, and Dead Fish tower as well in Siem Reap. Any others we should plan on?

We had our set dinner included in the rate while dining on the swings. It was fun, so I would go ahead and make the reservation.
The breakfast at Hotel de la Paix was delish...I think I put on about 2lbs a day just from the eggs benedict. I think champagne mimosoas were also included/free but that is not exactly the thing to drink before going hiking around the temples.

Have a great time.

Lucy, There's really only one restaurant. There are just 3 or 4 swings. Go ahead and reserve - I would book a meal with them anyway even if you can't get a swing - the food is really good. We also had a wonderful al fresco meal at Abacus, a short tuk-tuk ride from the hotel - very good continental cuisine. Cruisin is right about the breakfast - we only had breakfast in the dining room on our last day and we really regretted not having the time to do it every day.

Lucy,

Other restaurants away from the Hotel de la Paix?

We loved Madame Butterfly for dinner for both the charming, candle-lit ambiance and the food. The staff was extremely friendly so we spent a great deal of time engaged in conversation with them.

When friends suggested the FCC, we went but found it to be stronger on ambiance than on food.

We mostly tried to patronize Khmer-owned establishments that Dara and driver Retay recommended so we wound up sampling a variety of average-quality local restaurants.

There was a winner in this category though: Khmer Kitchen. It's an unassuming little restaurant that we really enjoyed. My daughter still talks about the pumpkin dish. We all agree that our simple meal there was the best meal of the trip to Siem Reap.

lcuy:

Try the Café Indochine Sivuath Avenue. Near Mekong Bank, Siem Riep Ph# 012 804 952
Across the street from the hotel Prince d Angkor. Really good food imho. Don't try the FCC. More like a glorified pizza joint than anything else.

Aloha!

We're staying at Hotel de la Paix also, from Feb. 6-9, with the same deal of the included meal one night. Any other restaurants anyone here recommends that are walking distance from HDLP? What is the area around HDLP like? Thanks - Claire

The area around the HDLP is dumpy - when we arrived in Siem Reap last February it had just rained and the road out front was completely flooded. I don't remember any restaurants within walking distance. However, tuk-tuks are everywhere and trips within the city cost only $1. A restaurant that we enjoyed very much is right down the road (but not walking distance) - it is called Abacus - nice al fresco atmosphere. The hotel can make a reservation for you.

Just returned from SR. There are MANY local restaurants within a 10 minute walk from the hotel, on Pub Street. These are not fancy restaurants, but it's interesting to sit outside and people watch. Dumpy adequately describes the neighborhood.
If you're not into the street/bar scene (which probably appeals more to the younger set), and want a nice dinner away from the hotel, take a $2.00 tuk-tuk ride to Le Meridien. You won't be disappointed.
I've been back about a week (from a 3-week trip to HK, PP, SR, BKK), and haven't found the time yet to put together a trip report. I'll try to do that soon.

If it's good food you're looking for...definitely try Blue Pumpkin. There's one at the airport--but I recommend hitting up the one in the middle of town. Not sure if it's the best place for a sit-down dinner, but fantastic for lunch...and the food was some of the best we had our entire time in SEA.

Already had Blue Pumpkin on our list from your earlier post, Filmwill. But thanks for the reminder. Sorry to hear the neighborhood isn't great, but the hotel looks so lovely on its website that I doubt it'll be a problem. Craig, Abacus sounds good also. It'll depend on how energetic we are at that point. We did book the swings though! Claire