00:04I am Kangda Nisha Chang and I'm a gym butler in Raffles Grand Hotel, D'Angkor.
00:10I'm going to take you through what a day my life looks like here in Symbrip, Cambodia.
00:20I do normal butler services like wake-up calls, breakfast, serving drinks,
00:26and making sure my guest is happy.
00:30So a gym butler is a butler for absolutely anyone who enjoys gin.
00:35My trolley is my best friend and her name is Fernando.
00:41Me and her often go to guest to guest, inspiring them with its history
00:47and just making people happy.
00:59I am right now in our very nice local market called Old Market.
01:06It's old because it's been here for such a long time and it's always busy.
01:11Even if it's low or high season, here it's always packed.
01:16In Symbrip itself, everything is affordable, especially here.
01:20So I love spending my money here.
01:24Absolutely anything in this market could be in a cocktail.
01:29This is rambutan and we also have fresh blueberries right here.
01:33We have durian, which is not everyone's favorite but it could make a delicious cocktail.
01:39Apples, dragon fruits, green grapes over there, avocados.
01:43Basically anything you've ever dreamed of.
01:45Going to the market is an inspiration because I get to see fresh ingredients right in front of my eyes.
01:53And it could leave me to a lot of creative drinks or a lot of ideas before coming to work.
02:02Yes! I see my favorite.
02:05This is pandan.
02:07This pandan is a kind of a sweet tool.
02:12I call it a sweet tool because it is a nutty, earthy flavor.
02:16The basil right here is very common in soups, Cambodian dishes.
02:21And this is what I normally use to infuse with my gin.
02:25So this is lemongrass.
02:27This is very rich in a bit of spice, but extremely herbal.
02:34Okon, cheren.
02:35Okon.
02:36Okon.
02:37We secured the goods. Let's go.
02:44So, right now I'm having a little quick bite because, of course, all of that shopping got me hungry.
02:51This is what I call mai sechiruk or rice pork with an extra egg.
02:56And there's also always has to have a little bit of pickle on the side served with spicy chili sauce
03:05and some nice soup.
03:09Oh my god.
03:16Oh my god.
03:16It's always good.
03:20Oh my god.
03:21It's always good.
03:24Right.
03:26Would you look at the time.
03:27It's time to work.
03:30I forgot where I parked my bike.
03:33It's probably this way.
03:42I think I'm actually lost.
03:44I'm gonna go this way.
03:47Everyone rides a motorbike here.
03:50My morning commute is very short because everything is basically close by.
03:55My right to work is always so green.
04:00And it's also very inspiring because you get to see the temples and you see them every day.
04:05It makes me so proud to be here.
04:15We are here in one of our pagodas just right in between the royal palace and my workplace.
04:23So this is where I often come before starting my work to just give myself a little blessing from the
04:30gods and also do a little prayers.
04:32Just to give myself good luck and a good day.
04:41I love looking at this building every time I come to work and then I say hello to the security.
04:50Parked my bike and went over to grab my uniform.
04:53Go change in the locker room.
04:55Getting ready and all suited up to go up on stage.
05:00Thank you very much for being on time.
05:02I'm meeting with the butler team and also the food and beverage team to just go through what's new and
05:10what to do.
05:11Just to get a little head start before the shift.
05:15During the meeting we always do a little service energize.
05:20That's what we call.
05:21It's a little exercise, a little prepped for service and just to also bring laughter to keep everyone happy for
05:30the entire day.
05:40Because I've done a lot of gin experience, I get to at least memorize guest movements.
05:45So I guess if they sit like this, they're interested.
05:50They want to know.
05:51They're leaning in.
05:52They're putting their ears closer to you.
05:54That's how you know that they're interested and it gets you pumped up and ready to tell them more.
05:59If they go like this, they're bored.
06:03They want this to stop or they want you to go quicker so that they could have a drink.
06:09Or if, well, for example, as I gave them a shot of the gins for them to taste.
06:16If they're doing like this, doing a little cross-legged with their hands up like this, they love it.
06:23They love what they're having.
06:24And it actually is always true because different people, different kind of thing, but the same movement.
06:32That's how I know what they're feeling.
06:42This is my favorite spot.
06:45My workplace.
06:47This is where the magic happens.
06:49Here we are in the iconic elephant bar.
06:52The spot right here is the original spot of the hotel since 1932.
06:59So before that, it was just a ledge for elephants.
07:02And that is where the elephants would escort all guests back and forth around Simria and especially to Angkor Wat.
07:10And that is why we named this bar the Elephant Bar to pay tribute to our amazing elephants.
07:17As you can see, we have all kinds of spirits.
07:21This is also our local gin with, of course, other gins from around the world as well.
07:27All of this is local rum.
07:30So we're very huge in spirits.
07:32We love making guests happy.
07:33This is my little best friend.
07:36This is called Eastern Negroni.
07:38It is a coconut infused gin with, of course, Campari and a very more fortified red wine.
07:45So a fancier sweet vermouth.
07:48Now in Cambodia, we are 365 days of summer.
07:51We need them cold and refreshing drink, which is why what I'm making right now is called Angkor Amber.
07:57And this drink right here represents how we are proud as a Cambodian.
08:03Amber symbolizes the sunrise and sunset of Angkor Wat.
08:17And I present to you Angkor Amber.
08:22Once I clocked in, I am here for the entire shift.
08:27But today I'm going on a little adventure to a local distillery that distilled the Simrup Gin.
08:37I love coming here.
08:39And each time I come here, I feel inspired, especially looking at the copper still, looking at the ingredients,
08:46looking at the bottles, and especially talking to my two parents.
08:50They're not my parents, but I call them mom and dad.
08:54And they take care of the gin and of me as well.
08:58In Cambodia, we have, I would say, five types of gin.
09:04Everything has one thing in common, spices.
09:08It is rich with herbs and just very flavorful in terms of texture and palate.
09:15In this case, herbal forward, which means that juniper is not at the backseat,
09:21while everything else starts to shine more.
09:23So, for this gin, I would describe it as a bouquet of flavors.
09:31And now, we're getting ready to head out to a very special dinner.
09:36The temple dinner.
09:43Once you think about Cambodia, you will first think about Simrup, because it's full of history.
09:49My favorite thing about Simrup is, of course, our temples.
09:54I am here in Thomanong Temple, one of the thousands temples here in Simrup,
10:01and also where we host our temple dinner.
10:04The temples here, each of them has their own unique history, unique background,
10:09and, of course, unique carvings as well.
10:11So, it's not just the building itself.
10:13It's the meaning hidden behind each of the carvings and sculptures.
10:17In Thomanong Temple, it's full of what we call Te Vada.
10:21And Te Vada is a female deity or female Apsara sculptures.
10:26And each of the female carvings around the wall here in Thomanong Temple represents beauty, prosperity, and boldness.
10:35Right now, before the temple dinner service starts, we tend to prep everything by first lighting up candles.
10:42So, we have over 500 candles placed nicely and equally as well,
10:47so that while you're walking, it looks very nice and magical.
10:52And we have a stage set up for Apsara performers and another platform for the guests to have dinner.
10:59And other spots as well, like for the instruments and my bar, of course.
11:07At the market, I did pick up two botanicals that I'm going to be using today,
11:13which is kaffir lime and basil, and also the dried lemon.
11:18I'm using all those three for garnishes and for ingredients.
11:23It's going to be a very beautiful night.
11:38The tree so that I can see, I'm going to be using the tree mat.
11:46And there is a branch in the tree I'm going to be using the tree mat.
11:52The tree is filling and my pakistan, and the tree is filling and filling in the tree.
11:56It's been a tree.
11:56It's been an tree and oil.
12:17Good evening, how's everyone doing?
12:19I'm ending the night with a little something special.
12:22So it's called Khmer Gimlet and we use with our non-oncoholic gin with half-free lime
12:29and basil all mushed up together.
12:44I think today was one of the best temple dinners I've ever done.
12:48I think the blessing from this afternoon worked really well.
12:51The light shows is breathtaking as usual.
12:54The guests are happy and the drinks went amazing.
12:57I mean, have you seen the Apsara?
12:59This is the best I could do.
13:01They bend almost 360 degrees.
13:04This is why I stick to hip-hop and not Apsara dances.
13:09I don't want to dishonor my ancestors.
13:13I'm a very creative person.
13:15I play instruments.
13:17I also love expressing myself through dancing.
13:20That is why I love to dance.
13:22I love the music.
13:30And I also love spending time with my friends, which we're going to do now.
13:35To end the night, I'm here with my best friend and we're going to have some cocktails together.
13:47And tomorrow, I will do it all over again.
13:50Do you talk to dream.
13:52I'mизuberant.
13:53So...
13:56And do you guess the fact or the most a time?
13:57How are you doing?
13:57You don't have a plan.
13:57You are fond.
13:57You have a plan.
