Tangram Restaurant

Our first step was to find land. Eventually, after several months of research, the commune chief of the area where we live, recommended this plot of land. After agreeing the rental price and contract, we had to bless the land by a monk. A ceremony took place and food was offered. We buried a gem stone in the land's "lucky spot" which is custom in Cambodia.

The second step to undertake was to fill in the land with soil. The land we rented had a total surface of 2600 square meters and a massive moat ran from the front to the back and needed to be filled before any construction could take place. 400 sand trucks later, that was done. We were now ready to build the structures onto the soil.

After agreeing the land's lucky spot, the first foundation was dug. Cambodian customs tell us that the first building should only be built on a piece of land that is regarded to as healthy and fruitful, to help our business grow.  The foundation of the huts and large bar area were dug soon afterwards and construction went very quick. In the meantime Kimty drove around on her motorbike ordering all kinds of materials for the construction of the restaurant.

Limited setbacks were encountered and the construction went up pretty much as it was designed. Rain occasionally had us wait for a few hours but nu real problems happened. The contractor and his team worked fast and according to schedule. They even build the small errors that popped up in the AutoCAD files from the designer!

Then the floods came in September 2011. A few days before Kimty left for holidays and the construction was near completion, one of the most severe floods Siem Reap had encountered in years put a hold on the construction. Within the 3 weeks of leave, nothing happened as the restaurant was continuously flooded. The hundreds of plants potted died and several other vegetations did not make it either, as well as several cubic meters of sand and cement. Luckily, the simple design prevented the floods from causing real damage and the damage was reduced to pretty much a month delay in opening only.

Construction resumed on 20 October, one day before the initial opening day. At this point, Kimty's parents in law were also in Cambodia and had hoped to help opening the restaurant. Unfortunately that help was reduced to cleaning and help fixing the details of the construction before they left Cambodia again for Holland. The road remained slightly flooded during this time and after those waters finally receded, nothing but a murky mess and terrible roads were left behind for us to work around.

As the details were being fixed, the electrician connected all the lights, speakers and switches for us. This was a massive task as 2600 square meters of land had to be lighted atmospherically. It took several days and lots of patience to figure out what and where the best lamps could be placed. Initially the electrician ignored the advice of the designer and planted lamps wherever he thought it was convenient, causing another delay as the entire electricity grid had to be redone.

At this point that the landscapers came in and finally planted the grass. Eventually we had to accept that planting the grass was time consuming and with the construction delay, we had to safe time somewhere... Having originally budgeted less on the landscaping we agreed to spend more and had a professional do it instead of asking rice planters to grow and plant the grass for us one by one.

In the meantime our self-designed playground was finished and delivered to the restaurant. The carpenter we found had produced an excellent job and the items he delivered were of excellent quality. Not using any plastic, the playground fits well into the decor of the restaurant and adds a different value to the concept. The playground has become part of the decor. Although closed at night time, it still is a very welcoming addition to the restaurant at night, when the lights shine atmospherically on our traditional house.

The soft opening finally happened on the 11th of November, 2011. The Grand Opening took place only a week later with about 100 guests joining from the hotel, tour and guiding industry. We hope everybody enjoyed, but as you  may notice on our Facebook page, some enjoyed too much... Enjoy your meal at Tangram!