WIDYONO TALK

Top bloke and former UN secretary general’s representative in Cambodia,  Dr Benny Widyono,  will give another of his fascinating talks in Siem Reap on May 18.

The good doctor was also the UNTAC shadow governor in Siem Reap in 1993,  and once told Man About how he negotiated with Khmer Rouge big guys in a building that later became the Siem Reap version of the notorious Martinis nightclub, now the Hip Hop Club.

In his May 18 talk, organised by the Centre for Khmer Studies, he will analyse how the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia created by the Paris Peace Agreements bridged a transition from Cambodia’s state of deep internal conflict and despair to a period of rapid economic growth.

He will do so within the context of Post Conflict Peace Building outlined by the UN in its Agenda for Peace.

The free lecture on May 18 will be held at 6pm at the Wat Damnak Conference Hall in Siem Reap. This is open to all, but please confirm before May 16 on 063 964 385, or contact [email protected].

Widyono will also talk in Phnom Penh tonight at  CKS Phnom Penh office,  # 234, St 450, Toul Tumpung II, Chamkamorn. Phone 023 991 937.

TUSCAN FOOD FEST

Next Thursday popular Italian restaurant Il Forno  will host a one-night-only feast celebrating Tuscan cuisine in the form of a four course “tailor-made” dinner.

Guests will be served classic Italian soup pappa al pomodoro for starters, home-made pappardelle with veal ragù and porcini mushroom for the pasta course, and braised beef with beans all’uccellina.

Dessert will be traditional rice cake with vanilla ice-cream.

The Italian cuisine will be washed down with complementary Tuscan wines, one paired to enhance each dish. A pinot grigio, cabernet sauvignon and chianti classico are on the list. Cost of the dinner is $34.

Il Forno marketing manager Chiara De Lucia says, “New clients will be amazed to find such researched special regional flavours at bargain prices in the middle of Asia.”