While Phnom Penh is an amazing city, it bears the scares of a troubled history which can be seen all around you.
As a visitor to this city you have the fantastic opportunity to not only rub shoulders with the wonderful people who live here, but also directly impact their lives in a positive way. One way you can help is dining at one of the many charitable restaurants operating in Phnom Penh.
Black Bambu, situated between Norodom and Monivong boulevards on Samdech Mongkol Em Street, is a sophisticated fusion restaurant dishing up a dazzling array of gourmet meals from Asia and abroad with impressive attention to detail. Profits from Black Bambu directly support Cambodian Children's Fund, an organization dedicated to transforming impoverished children into tomorrow's leaders. Many Black Bambu's staff have come through the CCF program and found found life-changing employment there.
Over in the trendy BKK1 area on street 310, you'll find Hagar Restaurant. Their popular $6.95 buffet lunch runs daily from 11:30am to 2:00pm and features a mouth-watering range of Asian and international food. They also have dinner buffet available by reservation. You'll walk out feeling truly satisfied, not just because you've raided the buffet for all it's worth, but also because you know your money is supporting Hagar in their mission to restore wholeness to the lives of women and children across Cambodia. Hagar prioritises the hiring the vulnerable women who learn valuable hospitality and catering skills through this enterprise.
Just a short stroll from Hagar you'll come across Lotus Blanc. Boasting a menu featuring delicious French and Asian cuisine, your meals are prepared and served by students from Pour un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE), a vocational training center providing free education for underprivileged children.
At Romdeng Restaurant on Oknha Ket Road you'll be greeted by an enticing array of Khmer dishes. From traditional to contemporary, everything on their menu is authentic and guaranteed to please. A part of Friends International, Romdeng is a training restaurant providing valuable skills and instructure some of Phnom Penh's least fortunate young people.
Another Friends International establishment, the aptly named Friends the Restaurant, can be found on Street 13, not far from the National Museum. Famous for its outstanding frozen shakes and daiquiris, along with its scrumptious tapas menu, this restaurant also provides empowering training to at-risk young people and has wonderful craft store just next door.
The Restore One Cafe, tucked away on Street 123, is a training center for vulnerable women and provides a 12-moth program, instilling in these women the necessary skills to exceed in Phnom Penh's booming hospitality and tourism sector. They also cook up some of the best burger in town and do not skimp on the filling!
Nestled just along from the Boeung Keng Kang Market is the Craft PEACE Cafe on Street 392. This hip eatery is big on style and even bigger on food. The cafe provides an outlet for craftsmanship and creativity of physically challenged artisans trained by the Banteay Prieb vocational training organization. Their skill is displayed in everything from the crafts lining the wall to some furniture throughout the building. You'll have ample opportunity to peruse their wares while enjoying their wares while enjoying one of Craft PEACE Cafe's famous smoothies or sandwiches.
With one location near the Royal Palace on Street 178 and another near the Russian Market on Street 430, Daughters of Cambodia's Sugar 'n Spice Cafes have all your bases covered. Their mission is all about helping victims of trafficking in Cambodia, with their cafes serving to financially support this cause and also provide valuable training to these at-risk women. They also serve up delicious cafe food-their eggs Benedict (with a very generous helping of hollandaise) being a stand-out favorite.
Meander 100m or so from the Russian Market down Street 155 and you may just spy Cambodia's first solar-power coffee and food vending tuktuk! Aziza's Coffee is staffed by fomer recycled goods pickers, mainly from city's largest dumpsite, Beung Cheoung Ek. Selling refreshing iced coffee and iced tea to parched commuters is service enough in Phnom Penh's sweltering heat, but when you add in the fact that they offer a discount to customers who bring in used plastic bottles and aluminium cans to incentivise recycling-a somewhat foreign notion to many here-you realise they're onto something special.
Source: POCKETGUIDECAMBODIA
