Kampuchea

“Cambodian Street Food” is the bill of fare at this casual Lower East Side eatery with communal seating, an open kitchen, and drinks served in Mason jars. Kampuchea seeks to satisfy the real lack of Cambodian restaurants here in New York, with some flexibility to allow chefs Ratha Chau and Scott Burnett to be creative. I discovered Kampuchea after reading a glowing review from Mike Schachner, who covers Spain and South America for the magazine. Kampuchea faced some rocky times when it first opened in 2006, and has been revived since then by dropping “noodle bar” from the name, and kicking up the heat.

You’ll find hot and cold small plates featuring everything from baby back ribs to rum blue crabs with honey soy sauce and a “pickle plate” of watermelon rind, daikon, red cabbage, and sprouts. If not for Mike’s recommendations, I might have overlooked the grilled sweet corn on the cob, slathered in chili mayo and coconut. Curious onlookers at our table inquired as we rolled up our sleeves and dug in, wiping our cheeks as we munched. Another can’t-miss-dish is the salty sweet pork belly cubes served with slivers of scallion and apple cider. Catfish crepes are highly recommended as well though with only two of us, we had to make room for noodles instead.

Despite apparent improvements, the noodle dishes we had were almost one-dimensional, lacking any spice. I found myself often reaching for the bottles of hot sauce supplied on the tables. My chilled flat noodles with pork belly were accented by plump chilli shrimp, but nearly soaked in hoisin sauce, which overpowered the dish. My friend felt similar, and said that her chicken katiev served with egg noodles, chicken, sausage, and chives in a chicken brother was a bit bland.

A better move possibly would have been a Num Pang sandwich served on a toasted baguette with grilled tofu or coconut tiger shrimp. The owners are slotted to open a new spot featuring exclusively Num Pang in the upcoming weeks.

Kampuchea does have a nice beer selection, and I washed it all down with a Smuttynose and a Hitachino red rice ale. The service was slightly dicey but I don’t expect perfection at such a casual spot. The corn made it worthwhile.

Kampuchea: 78 Rivington Street
Cuisine: Cambodian
Average Entree Price: $13-$17

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