#2 Cambodian in Vancouver at Angkor Restaurant Cambodian Noodle House
Posted on 05/31/2011
Address: 4884 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
The iconic image of Angkor Wat stupas on the canvass awning of Angkor Restaurant has been beckoning me for months and months. I finally had some spare time in the middle of a work day to duck inside and see what Cambodia nostalgia I could encounter.
I was in Cambodia in 2010, two nights in Phnom Penh and two nights in Siem Reap. Of course while in Siem Reap, besides looking for interesting Cambodian restaurants, we toured the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat with its magnificent sunrise silhouette. I have great memories of our 4:30a.m. rising to catch sunrise there and every time I see an image of this ancient structure, I am transported back to that time.
This blog post consists of two visits; because I got called back to work during my lunch here. I couldn't leave this unfinished first-time blogging restaurant unfinished so I came back later for dinner with my honey.
Angkor Wat Restaurant is stuck in the middle of a small row of shops along Victoria just off the intersection at 33rd. As I walked across the parking lot I wondeed to myself just how "authentic" the food here would be knowing firsthand the taste of "real" Cambodian food.
In case anyone misunderstands my terms, let me outline very clearly here in this post what I mean by "authentic" and "real". By "authentic" I mean the food uses the same ingredients (as much as possible) and tries to taste like the original dish in the country of origin. If the dish back home has ground, dry roasted glutinous rice powder as an ingredient, an "authentic" dish here must have the same thing in it. As for "real", this one is a bit harder to explain. By "real" I mean cuisine that is prepared to suite the taste of people in the country of origin. For example, a Chinese-food stall in Metrotown food court wouldn't actually be "real Chinese food" because the recipes are tailored for a mixed audience consisting mostly of Caucasians. Whereas a stall in Richmond Public Market has "real Chinese food" because the audience is 99% Chinese (I have got to get my butt over there and do a blog post).
Nhoam Lahong. Fresh shredded papaya, prawn, pork, herbs and fresh peanuts $7.00
I have had this dish many, many times in Thailand (as som tam) but unfortunately not in Cambodia. Therefore, I cannot say for certain how authentic this dish is. What I can say is that I wonder if the ingredients have been prepared as individual items and tossed as a garden salad as in the Western manner or chucked into a mortar and pestle and pounded until the juices start flowing and the tastes intermingle together in a wonderful Asian way. I would have thought that in Cambodia this nhoam lahong is pounded in the same way as Thailand's som tam.
For myself, I would rather save the $7 for another menu item that I can't make at home. As well, without long beans and cherry tomatoes, this papaya salad is lacking dude.
[The daylight in this shot is coming in from the window in midafternoon. The rest of the photos in this post were taken in the evening under fluorescent lighting.]
Returning later that evening, the restaurant had three tables half-full (four including us) out of seven tables of four and five tables of two. Angkor has some pretty decent art on the walls including woodcarvings and lacquerware apsaras and a long framed image of Angkor Wat. I am always on the lookout for good country-of-origin art in ethnic restaurants -- the charm of a well decorated restaurant adds to the dining experience no question about it.
Hai Nam Chicken Rice. Cambodian style Hai Nam free range chicken with ginger sauce $7.50
The free range chicken is excellent, mostly boneless except for a few smaller pieces. It is interesting to see yellow skin chicken on yellow rice. The chicken goes wonderfully with the ginger & chile dipping sauce and the rice is moist and flavorful.
Phnom Penh Dry Rice Noodle. Sliced pork, ground pork, pork liver, pork heart, prawns (Small) $6.25
This is the same dish I first had at Pho Tan back in March. Angkor's Dry Rice Noodle definitely takes backseat to Pho Tan's. The dry rice noodle preparation at Tan's is more civilized whereas Angkor's is of a courser grade of preparation.
Angkor Chicken Curry and Rice. Cambodian style chicken curry with veggies $6.95
I did have curry in Cambodia and this chicken curry dish does have some hints of the original. The best curry I tasted in Cambodia was in Phnom Penh at Romdeng Restaurant, an establishment that has distinguished itself by establishing a restaurant training program for former street youth -- and hiring them in their establishments.
This chicken curry dish at Angkor is somewhat has a strong presence of lemongrass -- something most curry lovers will find potentially endearing, but most likely off-putting. In this case, I don't think Angkor pulls it off well enough, and it is not a dish I would order again.
Angkor Deep Fried Spicy Chicken Wings. Crispy deep fried chicken wings with jalepeno and garlic (8 pc.) $7.70
Once again, the wings here even though of large size, generously breaded and liberally garnished with jalepenos? (couldn't find 'em), spring onion and chile bits take a backseat to the standard of another restaurant: Phnom Penh in Chinatown. The subtlety and sophistication of the famous chicken wings at Phnom Penh shows how a great restaurant compares to a just okay one.
There is no question Angkor is Vancouver's #2 Cambodian restaurant. As long as Phnom Penh stays in operation and Pho Tan keeps making his Cambodian dry rice noodle dish, there is really no need to come back here. Though I'll most likely be back for a second opinion and to try some more dishes.