Cambodian Cuisine

CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This stall, a regular vendor of the 2019 Queens International Night Market, only seems to use the name "Cambodian Cuisine" at their stand, but is listed as "Phnom Penh Project" on the market website and "Cambodia Now" on their social media.]

Cambodian food has not always had the best relationship with New York City, with restaurants struggling to survive in realms where customers do not know much about the cuisine and rents keep destabilizing the best intentions of chefs. The longest running of these, which also had the simple name of Cambodian Cuisine tried in Brooklyn and the Upper East Side before finally calling it quits. Look hard enough and you might find a pop-up here and there, but nothing earth-shaking. Currently just Angkor Cambodian Bistro offers a permanent home for the cuisine.

With this history, the Queens International Night Market is the perfect place for a fairly new vendor to try and spread the word on an often underrepresented cuisine sandwiched between countries well known for their deliciousness. A surprisingly ambitious menu for a market stall is turning out some great modest renditions of Cambodian cooking and from the looks of it, New York City has the appetite for something new.

Sitting proudly at the top of their menu is amok ($5, above), sometimes referred to as the national dish of Cambodia and a must try. This fish and coconut milk curry is often found steamed within and served on a banana leaf but for the ease of prep here that is used more as a garnish. The flavors of Southeast Asia all shine through here subtly but the sweetness of the coconut curry is most pronounced, with hints of lemongrass and kaffir lime.

Definitely try also the grilled beef ($5, below), skewers of perfectly prepared and marinated to be slightly sweet and nutty as well. If eating as a group, this might be one where you get a portion for everyone as you will end up not wanting to share.

On most evenings the stand makes a mix of caramelized potatoes and bananas, but on this night the potatoes were alone. They get their caramelization from palm sugar and are lightly fried to a really nice consistency. This dish was a bit of a surprise in how well it was enjoyed and does not have to be simply a side. Definitely there will be something to look forward to when the bananas are paired with it next time.

They have a drink worth trying as well called mung bean milk ($4, not shown), a fairly healthy and high protein drink that goes well with all of their offerings. It gets its green color from pandan leaves.

🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭

CORONA Queens
Queens International Night Market

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Angkor Cambodian Bistro

CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

Just about as far as you can walk on East 64th Street is the home of brand new Angkor Cambodian Bistro, in a space occupied by many restaurants that have come and gone. What is special about this spot now is it houses the only kitchen in town preparing the cuisine of Cambodia, a space in need of filling for a few years.

This restaurant is owned by the husband and wife team that ran Royal Siam in Chelsea for 20 years before getting out in 2013 for a break. He does the cooking while she mingles with guests and makes sure the front of house is running smoothly. We were told a story of tumultuous times in Cambodia that led him to flee to Thailand and be in and around kitchens and cooking styles from both countries. It seems to be the culmination of all their hard work and a larger dream that has been strived for over decades. After all this time, the food of his home country can finally be presented, recipes from mother combined with an insider's knowledge of the New York dining scene.

That scene, and the really good design of this place do not excite me at all. The music playing is old folk and something resembling Kenny G. Unfortunately, the only thing that could remind me of travels in Cambodia is the paintings of ruins. Luckily the food does a nice job overcoming these things.

I have eaten Cambodian in New York City when it used to exist. I have traveled up to Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts to try it there amongst Cambodian communities. I have been to Cambodia Town in Long Beach, California. And yes, to Cambodia as well. It is funny to report that this is the best food of any restaurant I have had of all of them. I often refer to Cambodia negatively when it comes to food, it lags behind its neighbors by some distance. Thai, Vietnamese, and Lao food are all excellent, while the Khmer foods usually just do not pack the punch. Angkor Cambodian Bistro is taking the cuisine to its highest limits.

One of my favorite dining experiences in Cambodia was stopping at a roadside restaurant just outside the Angkor temples specializing in banh chao, a very thin crepe that conceals ground meat and bean sprouts, picked up with pieces of greens and dipped in fish sauce. Unfortunately the greens here were just a chunk of iceberg lettuce, but otherwise the dish is a great representation. We asked for our banh chao ($18, below) as an appetizer.

The other tempting appetizer was the deep fried Khmer fish cakes (10, below), pleasantly chewy discs that come with a slightly spicy and sweet dipping sauce.

I found that in Cambodia, loc lac is sort of the country's pad thai, readily available (and disappointing) everywhere tourists roamed, but also done well in back alley restaurants for locals. Once again, the version here ($18, below) is top notch. The meat is so soft to be beyond tender and a bit odd, but the spices and marinade are delicious. They must deal with winter tomatoes and cucumbers, which do nothing to enhance the dish, but push these aside and imagine other vegetables in warmer climates.

The pride of the restaurant, and an essential order for any Cambodian meal is baked amok ($22, below). As we ordered, she beamed that they enhanced what is normally just a fish dish with shrimp and scallops, something to bring it from the standards of a "poor country" to the Upper East Side and her New York customers. I am not sure the extras do much, the fish would have been just fine, because it is the curry that plays front and center in this meal. Highly recommended.

On the back of the menu is a small selection of noodles, so we decided to ask for a recommendation since we were only going to try one. We were steered towards the nyoam ($16, below), a pungent fish curry with fish sauce that we were urged to eat while hot. This dish was something I had never tried before, and enjoyed, but might not order again.

Our dessert was the pumpkin custard ($6, below), another dish found in Thailand as well as Cambodia. Once again it was the recommended choice, and once again it was a hit at the table.

After everything, a beautiful small tray of jasmine tea was presented to wash mouths and clear palettes before the check came and the meal came to an end. Our conversations with the owners were lovely, she even pulled her husband out of the kitchen to speak to and meet the table for a bit.

Good people and a good restaurant, to be wished well in a city that desperately needs them.

🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭
UPPER EAST SIDE Manhattan

408 East 64th Street

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

[CLOSED] Cambodian Cuisine

CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

[UPDATE: CLOSED It only lasted a year, as a very sad goodbye letter is posted on the restaurant's website].

It was 2005 or so that Cambodian Cuisine shuttered its gates in Fort Greene, Brooklyn and left in a huff. According to the New York Times, its owner had been convinced by Manhattanites visiting BAM to move to the island. Not a note was left, nor a trail of bread crumbs, and off he went. What he found was three years of trouble with the city and permits, but finally in 2008 reopened in the Upper East Side.

Initially I thought I did not want to pay the new location a visit, for pride's sake, but it took less than a year for that to fall away. Yes, prices were up a few dollars, but the food was hopefully still very good. The place was definitely an upgrade, with a clean, polished look and well decorated dining room.

I started with my old delivery favorite, the chicken ahmok ($14.95, below), and was pleased to find my favorite dish still alive, if only $3 more expensive. This chicken had been marinated in a batter of coconut milk, lemon grass, and chilis, and was still topped with the same delicious coconut milk curd. The dish was a little smaller than I remember, but I was satisfied.

Our table also tried the samlor mchoo kroeurng ($14.95, below), a giant vat of soup served over a flame. The taste was pleasantly tangy and immediately brought to mind Thai tom yum. Cambodian food is definitely similar to its Southeast Asian neighbor, but somehow the tastes are more subtle and do not explode in your mouth like Thai. That is not to say bland, but unfortunately our last dish was a bit in it's tofu version: The samlor kawko ($14.95, not pictured) just did not pack any punch.

The menu has a spice rating system at the bottom that consists of three levels: spicy, mild, and bland. We recommend staying away from the dishes labeled bland, for they are not kidding. All in all, the Upper East Side is benefitting from its recent addition, although it will be missed in Brooklyn.

🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭
UPPER EAST SIDE Manhattan
1664 3rd Avenue

Phnom Penh-Nha Trang Market

CAMBODIA
VIETNAM

You get an idea what might be inside from the owners naming of the place, which shares two locations in two countries. First, Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and then Nha Trang, a coastal region of Vietnam known for its beautiful beaches. It is a small hint of the tiny southeast Asian communities living in the Bedford Park area of the Bronx.

This small grocery near Kingsbridge Road is packed with many southeast Asian items, one of which was the curious "Tara Basil Seed Drink with Honey" ($1.25). The seeds float in the juice, and scared me off, but the end result was not so horrible. I won't get used to the texture though. They also had plenty of powders and mixes to try to make soups and dishes at home, all priced around $1.50.

BEDFORD PARK Bronx
2639 Jerome Avenue

Battambang Market II

CAMBODIA 🇰🇭

This corner market in the Bedford Park neighborhood of the northern Bronx is named for the second largest city in Cambodia but has quite a few products from many southeast Asian countries.

On my visit I only picked up some spicy Japanese wasabi peas and one small green papaya, but the place was fun, with DVDs all over the place and the aroma of mysterious fresh produce. They have containers for cooking sticky rice, and bushels of the rice itself for people loading up for home. Be careful handling the vegetables though, a sign warns: "If you break any vegetables, you BOUGHT IT!

🇰🇭🇰🇭🇰🇭
BEDFORD PARK Bronx

229 East Kingsbridge Road

Map of Eat the World NYC: