Looking For Khmer Restaurants

[teemuj]

Can anyone recommend khmer/cambodian restaurants in Bangkok? or places owned / cambodian run?

[SantiSuk]

Look on Khmer440.com. I recall seeing something (and I think it would be there) that discussed that very subject and concluded there were no true khmer restaurants in BKK ('thais hate us'). Or maybe it was the Bangkok Airways in flight magazine. I read that there are a few ersatz ones (described as being like Chinese restaurants in the UK) in Bangkok and Pattaya but it seems like you have to go over the border (or find a Khmer village in Issaan, there are lots of them around where we live - a legacy of Pol Pot) for true Khmer food. I remember thinking that there has to be a commercial opening there for some enterprising khmer.

The compliment is returned - you can't easily find good Thai food in Cambodia although pale imitations are widely offered to tourists.

Khmer food can be a little bland to a falang with an assaulted Thai palate, but their fish curry (amok) is delicious anyway. Phnom Penh is as good as Pats for the breadth of its international food offering and much better than Thailand on French food of course (ex-French colony).

[Jingthing]

I have had good Cambodian food, but Thai hor mok pla is pretty close to Amok, and overall I don't think the lack of it is a huge loss. On the other hand, the scarcity of Burmese, Malaysian, Singaporean, and GOOD Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand is really an insult to foodies. I can't imagine the excuse. I have yet to find a place that does pho here that deserves the name, for example. They don't bother doing the broth correctly, they just use a Thai style quick cook broth when for real pho the broth must be cooked for hours. I know, off topic, but not entirely, what is it with the general dissing in Thailand of the fantastic culinary riches of it's neighbors?

http://www.allthaifood.com/?contentID=10000004&getarticle=188&catid=3

Edited January 23, 2011 by Jingthing

[teemuj]

So I suppose at least well known restaurants are non-existant. Food is actually only part of the reason to go, the other being able to find local khmers (my gf is khmer). Is there any place for khmer-town around Bangkok?

[SantiSuk]

I have had good Cambodian food, but Thai hor mok pla is pretty close to Amok, and overall I don't think the lack of it is a huge loss. On the other hand, the scarcity of Burmese, Malaysian, Singaporean, and GOOD Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand is really an insult to foodies. I can't imagine the excuse. I have yet to find a place that does pho here that deserves the name, for example. They don't bother doing the broth correctly, they just use a Thai style quick cook broth when for real pho the broth must be cooked for hours. I know, off topic, but not entirely, what is it with the general dissing in Thailand of the fantastic culinary riches of it's neighbors?

http://www.allthaifo...cle=188&catid=3

Thailand is the France of Asia when it comes to food Jingthing. A culinary autocracy that refuses to recognise other cuisines as being relevant. It will change over time as the young kids in Bangkok start to experiment away from fast and Japanese/Korean food.

I remember how exotic it was to eat at an American hamburger joint and an Italian pizza restaurant in the UK when I was 17 little more than four decades ago; maybe 4 years previously my father - a Brit who had served in the Indian army - took us to eat Indian food in Edinburgh at only the second Indian restaurant in the UK (now there are tens of thousands). My generation was the first with significant disposable income and witnessed (nay drove) an explosion of international cuisine. When I lived in London 3 years back there were restaurants from over 70 countries within 5 miles of my appartment.

[Goinghomesoon]

So I suppose at least well known restaurants are non-existant. Food is actually only part of the reason to go, the other being able to find local khmers (my gf is khmer). Is there any place for khmer-town around Bangkok?

There is a small community of professional expat Khmers, for example I know some working for international hospitals as Thai-Khmer interpreters, as well as some working for UN agencies and NGOs. I've met a few expats with Khmer wives in town too. But I don't know that there is a single Khmer gathering point though. (Of course there is also the whole huge illegal worker population but I'm guessing you weren't looking to connect with them.) As far as Khmer restaurants, I wish i could help. Have lived here 4 years without success...we are good friends with a Khmer family and they cook for us. I lived in Cambodia for several years in the 90s so developed a taste for the food then. I love Thai food but the effect of the constant assault of flavour is totally different to the delicate balance in well-executed Khmer food. A good "somlor m'cheu" soup is outstanding and I think Thai hor mok is rather rubbery compared to a good Khmer amok. It's just a totally different experience. Let me know if you find anywhere good!

[KRS1]

I have had good Cambodian food, but Thai hor mok pla is pretty close to Amok, and overall I don't think the lack of it is a huge loss. On the other hand, the scarcity of Burmese, Malaysian, Singaporean, and GOOD Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand is really an insult to foodies. I can't imagine the excuse. I have yet to find a place that does pho here that deserves the name, for example. They don't bother doing the broth correctly, they just use a Thai style quick cook broth when for real pho the broth must be cooked for hours. I know, off topic, but not entirely, what is it with the general dissing in Thailand of the fantastic culinary riches of it's neighbors?

http://www.allthaifo...cle=188&catid=3

Some of the best Thai noodle places are actually Pho, although 99% of the people don't realize it.

[ihunnieibee]

can you please PM me with the locations..i am dying for some decent-good Pho..i miss it so much =(

[teemuj]

No luck so far with either expat Khmers or Khmer restaurants. Search to continue. I agree with the comment on Khmer food being more delicate instead of (often) chilli-attack, which is something I really like.

[Jingthing]

I have had good Cambodian food, but Thai hor mok pla is pretty close to Amok, and overall I don't think the lack of it is a huge loss. On the other hand, the scarcity of Burmese, Malaysian, Singaporean, and GOOD Vietnamese restaurants in Thailand is really an insult to foodies. I can't imagine the excuse. I have yet to find a place that does pho here that deserves the name, for example. They don't bother doing the broth correctly, they just use a Thai style quick cook broth when for real pho the broth must be cooked for hours. I know, off topic, but not entirely, what is it with the general dissing in Thailand of the fantastic culinary riches of it's neighbors?

http://www.allthaifo...cle=188&catid=3

Some of the best Thai noodle places are actually Pho, although 99% of the people don't realize it.

Really? With real pho broth like this -- (wiki)

Broth

The broth is generally made by simmering beef (and sometimes chicken) bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, and spices, taking several hours to prepare. Seasonings can include Saigon cinnamon or other kinds of cinnamon as alternatives (may use stick or powder), star anise, roasted ginger, roasted onion, black cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, and clove.[11]

[Goinghomesoon]

Saw in a review yesterday that Oskar Bistro in Sukhumvit Soi 11 has Khmer loc-lac. Also a friend told me Ishq in Sathorn Rd has Khmer food too.

[koknia]

I lived in Cambodia for 6 years and while there are some tasty dishes, there's not one I actually miss and/or crave.

[Jajazazajaja]

Well 9 years later and there still isn’t a Khmer restaurant in Bangkok!

 

This last week I’ve had Nigerian, Ethiopian, Philippino, Cajun, Georgian and Iranian

 

But impossible to find Cambodian, still