Malis on Norodom Boulevard is the restaurant most Cambodian families pick for a special occasion, and the one to send visiting friends to if you want them to take Khmer cuisine seriously. The garden setting is genuinely beautiful — open-air pavilions around a central pond — and the menu is built around classical Khmer dishes presented with care.
The fish amok is the obvious order — slow-steamed in banana leaf with kroeung paste — but the morning glory salad with smoked fish, the prahok ktis dip, and the slow-roasted lok lak are all standouts. Expect to spend US$25–35 per person with drinks, which is high for Phnom Penh but justified.