Cambodia: Angkor Cambodian Bistro (Upper East Side)

After fleeing Phnom Penh in 1975, chef Minh Truong lived in Vietnam and then Thailand before moving to the United States in the early 1980s. Some of the items on the menu are from neighboring countries, but the majority are Khmer. Cambodian staples like amok and beef salad will be recognizable to anyone who has visited the motherland or even South Philadelphia. Khmer cuisine is generally less spicy than that of neighboring Thailand or Laos.

When you enter Angkor Cambodian Bistro, you’ll be greeted by a long-lobed Buddha head. The inside is elegantly decorated with low lights. The exposed brick walls are adorned with paintings of Angkor Thom and other relics of the former Khmer empire. If low light (like the Pearl Jam song) is not your thing, there is also outside seating. After dining, you may want to go shopping for elephant and Buddha head pillows.