Battambang - Good Mood, Good Food
Written: Jan 31 '01 (Updated Jun 15 '05)
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Pros: Lemongrass, coconut milk, chili peppers, et al.
Cons: The desserts need a little help.
The Bottom Line: Pretty decent Cambodian food.
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Battambang |
Cambodia lies in between Vietnam and Thailand on the Malay Peninsula. By virtue of location and proximity, I’m assuming many aspects of culture are shared; this of course can be seen in Cambodian food. Cambodian food is unique and yet I can find strong Thai and Vietnamese (with a hint of French) influences (of course this is vice versa as well.)
If you’ve never had Cambodian food, Battambang Restaurant on Broadway in Oakland is a pretty good place to start. It’s comfortable and cozy with crisp and clean linen tablecloths, oil paintings, and a purple orchid sits on each table. I immediately felt comfortable upon walking in… don’t be fooled by the “Authentic Cambodian Cuisine” painted on the glass windows. Inside, it’s classy without being pretentious and the service is polite and adequate, nothing major. We went on a Thursday night and all but one table was occupied, so I’m guessing this is a popular spot, although it didn’t have that ‘too-crowded’ feel to it.
The menu is extensive and does a sufficient job of explaining what each dish is. We started with slarb moarn bourk, chicken wings stuffed with ground pork, roasted peanuts, mushrooms, lemon grass, and tasty spices. ($5.25) This appetizer came with two overstuffed chicken wings fired, and then cut into thirds, perfect for sharing, and a side of pickled vegetables plus a little bowl of a sweet lime and fish sauce for dipping.
Our main course consisted of sach chrouk aing, a huge portion of char-broiled pork. ($6.25) The pork was well marinated in lemon grass and various spices, sliced into smaller pieces and also came with pickled veggies and lime sauce. It was delicious but since the pork was sliced before being grilled, some of the smaller pieces were a little too charred. But no worries, there was enough for three, even though we skipped over the overly burned pieces.
We also opted for a curry dish, ordering kari dong kchei ($6.25) which was absolutely my favorite thing. All the curry dishes at Battambang are red curries and the one we ordered came with boneless chicken chunks, green beans, yams, and bits of young coconut meat. The curry was subtle and yet tres aromatic. The sharp curry spices mingling with the coconut milk created a perfect blend. The chicken was also tender and lean, and the crisp green beans created a yummy texture contrast.
Our third dish was a rather salty moarn char karpic, ground chicken sautéed with minced mushrooms, shrimp paste, basil and oyster sauce. ($6.25) On the menu it sounded really good but in front of us this dish stumbled. It was just too salty to be able to appreciate all the flavors of the other ingredients.
For my beverage, I opted for sweet iced coffee, which is just Thai iced coffee – a super thick strong coffee topped off with sweet condensed milk… caffeine city. My friend ordered the sweet iced tea, which was extremely orange, more orange than normal, but still sweetly good.
Another area where Battambang stumbled was in the desserts. If you go, opt for something safe, like the neo-classic deep fried bananas with ice cream. I made the mistake of ordering banana chunks with mini tapioca balls in sweet milk. It sounded like it might be good, but like the ground chicken, it wasn’t. It was served warm and just tasted sweet. It wasn’t creamy and the bananas didn’t save it; nothing spectacular.
I would give Battambang a strong recommend; the majority of dishes we got were excellent and flavorful, and even though some of the things faltered, the better dishes we got pulled the experience through. A few blocks away, on the corner of Alice and 8th is another Cambodian restaurant worth trying, Phnom Penh – it’s more casual and less expensive – the service is warm & friendly, and the food is great.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations none
Best Suited For: Friends
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