Phnom Penh - West 25th Street in Ohio City

On Friday, I convinced the lady to join with me on a journey back into my prodigal youth.  A few years back, I was fortunate enough to spend a summer in Cambodia with my college roommate Mike, who works at an orphanage in Phnom Penh.  For most people, Cambodia does not really scream gourmet food.  Or much of anything else, for that matter.  Before I left the States, I had more than one person wish me “good luck in Africa.”

If someone is familiar with Cambodia, it is usually because of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s – more specifically, genocide.  Again, this does not exactly set the tone for a satisfying dining experience.  But one of the great tragedies of Cambodia, besides the sheer loss of human life in its history, is that the people and their culture have so much to offer; the world just doesn’t seem to know it.

Sadly, because of the amount of poverty in the country, too large a number of Cambodian’s themselves are unable to enjoy their national food in what we would consider a “restaurant-style” fashion.  Many ingredients, most prominently a reliable supply of protein, are simply beyond the budgets of many families.  In spite of this, the country has developed a rich culinary tradition that can only be described as nuanced, if you are lucky enough to have the means to experience it.

Despite what many people may believe, this is a nation with a long and proud history.  As one author has noted, while Cambodia was raising the great temple of Angkor Wat, to this day the largest religious building in the world “England was not yet a nation, and the isles fell to Viking invaders. At the same time, Muslim armies occupied nearly all of the Iberian Peninsula that would later become Spain.  France was just forming as a nation.”  So yeah, they’ve had plenty of time to keep up with, or rather ahead of, the likes of Europe.

My favorite dish during my stay in Cambodia was chicken amok.  And the best place to get it was a small, dimly-lit restaurant in the backpacker district of Phnom Penh.  The backpacker district used to be a lovely little area on the shores of Boeung Kak Lake, consisting of the expected bars, restaurants, and guesthouses.  It is difficult to imagine a calmer night than having the warm Southeast Asian breeze brush against your face while sipping on an ice-cold Angkor Beer.  Of course, it being Cambodia, the moment was occasionally punctuated by a shady individual peddling all manner of illicit contraband.

Sadly, the lake was recently filled in, and most of the backpacker district displaced, in order to make way for business complexes and condos.  I guess that’s what they call progress, but my favorite amok restaurant was among the casualties.  Along with it went much of my hope for ever finding the dish of such quality again.  If I could no longer find that such masterful amok in Cambodia itself, surely I would never find it in Cleveland.

Following my return from Cambodia, most of my years in the CLE confirmed my worst fears.  Cleveland has long had a celebrated Asian food scene.  Clevelanders still argue whether the top Vietnamese is Superior Pho or Number One Pho (Number One, in this guy’s humble opinion), and the AsiaTown neighborhood has long harbored Chinese gems such as Li Wah.  Cambodian, though, that was a far rarer breed.  To my knowledge, there are currently only two Cambodian restaurants in the Cleveland area: Cuisine du Cambodge on Lorain, and Phnom Penh in Ohio City.

To my great disappointment, neither Cuisine du Cambodge nor Phnom Penh offered my beloved amok on their respective menus.  And while the siren song of Cambodian cuisine called to me from time to time, I could never bring myself to return to it in the absence of my favorite dish.  Luckily for me, a few weeks ago, Mia and I were trying to decide on a restaurant in Ohio City.  While scrolling through the nearby restaurants in the Urbanspoon app, I decided to check out Phnom Penh’s menu on a lark.  Even though in my heart I knew we wouldn’t choose to eat there, my curiosity got the better of me.

Imagine my excitement when I realized the amok-sized hole in my heart had been there all these years on account of a spelling error!  Yes, the Urbanspoon menu for Phnom Penh has “smok” listed, not “amok.”  Those years past, when I first checked the menu, I didn’t put two and two together, and so deprived myself of some truly delicious offerings.  While we didn’t eat at Phnom Penh that night (opting instead to try the new TownHall), I vowed to get there at some point in the near future, and find out once and for all if Cleveland amok is up to snuff.

So that, yes all of that, is how I found myself on a typically-packed West 25^th last Friday night.  Walking through the doors of Phnom Penh offered a welcome retreat from all the bustle that pretty much characterizes everywhere else in Ohio City on the weekend.  Only a single table in the relatively Spartan space was occupied.  “Was this a sign?” I wondered ominously.  Surely there would be more people here if the food was anything to write home about.  I’m glad to say though, the relative emptiness in Phnom Penh was not on account of its food.  It simply seems that, like me, most of Cleveland has just missed the boat on this hidden treasure.

Phnom Penh’s menu is big, and so it can be a tad overwhelming at first glace.  Even with my passing familiarity with Cambodian food, I was a little uncertain what to make of it all initially.  Besides the many Cambodian dishes, there are also ones from various other Asian countries, including Thailand and China.  In my experience, ethnic restaurants that try to specialize in too many nationalities are jacks of all trades, and masters of none.  But I decided to focus on the Cambodian fare (that was the whole reason I was there, after all) and reserve judgment until I was actually served.  It proved a wise decision.

As per usual, we began with a split appetizer.  Typically, at Asian restaurants, we like to begin with some form roll, be it a Chinese egg roll or a Vietnamese spring roll.  Tonight, though, we just weren’t feeling it.  Along the side wall is a large flat screen television that helpfully cycles through pictures of the restaurant’s many dishes.  And boy, did the various rolls you could order look appetizing.  The mini spring rolls ($3.75) looked especially good.  But as I said, we just weren’t in the mood that night.  We had a taste for something a bit lighter – not that spring rolls are all that heavy – but hey, it is what it is.

We decided to try the Salad Phnom Penh ($4.85), and we could not have been further from disappointed.  The dish can only be described as fresh – seriously, this thing tasted like a mouthful of springtime air after an evening thunderstorm.  Consisting of chicken, cabbage, onion, bean sprouts, carrots, basil, and crushed peanuts, the salad was generously topped with an outstanding house-made garlic sauce.  One could argue I embarrassed myself by sipping the wonderful leftover sauce with my spoon, but luckily I have no shame.  The only complaint I can muster is that a little more chicken might have been nice, but then again, this potentially would have messed with the perfectly balanced medley of flavor.  And in any case, the protein often plays a key supporting role for other featured ingredients in Cambodian cooking.

For our entrée’s, we went, of course, with the amok.  Our second selection was the Kuy Teav Chha Kreoung Tek Trey Phem (whew, say that again Tikki Tikki Tembo).  I was disappointed to learn that the amok at Phnom Penh is only served as a seafood option, and not with chicken.  In the end though, I was okay with it – I wasn’t here for chicken, I could get that anywhere, I was after the amok’s prized sauce.  Amok is curry based, and while still hot, as compared to Thai or Indian curry, it is layered with an additional sweet-gingery flavor that makes it so unique.  For me, it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever tasted.  The sauce can be tossed with pretty much any kind of meat, and then is steamed inside a banana leaf.

As I said though, at Phnom Penh, you can only order amok of the seafood variety.  Their ingredients include shrimp, scallops, imitation crab, and catfish.  Oh, the anticipation once the beautifully plated dish arrived.  We eagerly dumped the whole banana leaf basket over our serving of rice and dug in!  The sauce itself, while not quite what I remembered, was very good.  It may have lacked some of the flavors evoked at my favorite Cambodian, Cambodian restaurant, but it was certainly savory enough to order again.  And as anyone who has been to France or Italy knows, once you’ve been spoiled by the real deal, it can be hard to replicate the experience back stateside.  I will say the dish was a little heavy on the imitation crab.  The amount of shrimp was perfect, but the scallops and catfish were especially flavorful, so a bit more of them would have been nice.  Imitation crab tends to taste like imitation crab no matter what you do to it.  But all things said, if you make your way down to Phnom Penh (and you should), this one should be near the top of your list.

The Kuy Teav Chha Kreoung Tek Trey Phem (when you order, just say the letter and number helpfully listed next to the menu item and save yourself a lot of embarrassment) also looked quite elegant.  The dish consists of a kreoung sauce served atop spring rolls, onion, lettuce, and chopped peanuts, all over a healthy bowl of steaming vermicelli noodles.  Kreoung is really just a fancy term that can be used for a base Cambodian sauce made from varying spices.  In short, it’s very similar to curry in flavor, but also has its own distinct taste.  You can get the dish with different proteins of your choosing, but we went with the chicken.  The chicken was complemented by the sauce very well, and was generously portioned, but the real champion here was the onions.  Their sweet-but-still-oniony flavor was the perfect foil for the fiery kreoung sauce.  I never had this dish in Cambodia, so I can’t compare it to what you might experience there.  But that being said, it would be difficult for me to imagine someone producing an even more flavorful version of this dish.

 

Some other observations on Phnom Penh.  Yes, the food is great.  But for me, one of the prime attractions was being in Ohio City without the sheer crush of people.  In my book, save the “bar scene” for the bar.  Four or five other tables did wander in while we were eating, but the place never really got full.  Probably, this is because some people think Cambodian food simply isn’t for them. One couple was even seated, and after viewing the menu, left.  But I promise you, if you’re adventurous enough for Thai or Vietnamese, you will love Cambodia’s take on Southeast Asian faire.

Also, some additional notes on the food.  Mia and I both enjoy spicy food (she can take it a tad hotter than me).  Most of the entrees at Phnom Penh are cooked to order in terms of spice level.  We went with medium for both dishes and found it perfect – it packed a glowing kick, but not to such a degree that it destroyed the flavor.  In my experience, ordering something “hot” at an ethic restaurant is usually a mistake, but proceed at your own peril.  Furthermore, portion sizes are generous, but far from the heaping mounds that you usually find at most American restaurants.  We were only mildly hungry, and finished all of the appetizer, and about three quarters of the entrees.  If you’ve brought your appetite, you’ll probably want to go with two smaller appetizers, or one of the larger “basket” options.  Finally, there is no booze on the menu here, so do your drinking ahead of time at one of the many nearby bars, or bring your own.

So what are you waiting for?  How often is it that you can have a new, and I mean truly new and novel dining experience in Cleveland?  Mama Santa’s may have the best lasagna in town, but how many other places are there to get this dish?  Sokolowski’s may serve up the meanest pierogies this side of the Atlantic, but this town has some serious Eastern European roots.  Cambodian on the North Coast – now that’s something special.  And trust me, the amok alone is worth the trip.

The Plain Dealer's Review of Phnom Penh 

Urbanspoon Profile of Phnom Penh