Saroeun Trou, owner of Phnom Penh restaurant, shows off a bowl of Phnom Penh machu soup, a citrusy, tamarind-flavored broth filled with catfish and vegetables.Wed, Jun. 11, 2008
By LAUREN CHAPIN
The Kansas City Star (Missouri, USA)
Like all Cambodians of a certain age, Saroeun Trou has stories to tell of the horror the Khmer Rouge inflicted on his country.
But Trou and his mother, Tuoch Keo, were among the lucky few who survived the slaughter that was later chronicled in “The Killing Fields.”
They escaped Cambodia and lived in refugee camps along the Thai border from 1979 to 1981. While in the camp, Trou worked for the American Embassy. In 1982 the two of them made their way to Kansas City. He has not been back since, although his mother has made a few trips home. Instead, he’s paying homage to his country through food.
In March Trou opened Phnom Penh Restaurant. He’d owned a Chinese restaurant years ago but had never included food from his homeland on the menu.
And I’d never had Cambodian food. It reminded me a little bit of Thai and Vietnamese food, although it was lighter than Thai and not as spicy as Vietnamese.
An exception was the Phnom Penh beefsticks, chewy, bite-size nuggets of beef threaded on a stick and served as an appetizer. Lacquered with a sweet, earthy sauce, the beefsticks were served with a shredded green papaya salad dressed in a bitingly spicy dressing.
Two of us shared three entrees, not knowing just how generous the portions were. The cha kreung was a mess of beef slices, green peppers and yellow onion slices spooned over white rice. The mee ka-thaing reminded me of pad Thai, without the fish sauce aroma and lime juice bite of the Thai dishes. The wide rice noodles were tossed with chopped Chinese broccoli, eggs and beef.
The favorite was the Phnom Penh machu, a tamarind-based brothy soup seasoned with crispy garlic pieces and loaded with pan-fried catfish hunks, lotus root slices, tomatoes, pineapple, Thai basil and chunks of some sort of Asian gourd. The tamarind gave the broth a snappy citrus taste. The lotus root, threaded with tiny holes, looked like pasta and had a vegetal crunch. The gourd pieces, which looked like cucumber, were slithery but al dente, while the pineapple gave the soup a tropical sweetness. It was fabulous.
Trou has two Cambodian desserts: sarai, a Cambodian-style gelatin made with coconut milk and loaded with jackfruit and longan, and loat, a dessert soup made with cooked tapioca flour bits stirred into a sweet cane sugar and coconut milk syrup.
A couple of things to keep in mind: Trou was waiting on the credit card machine to arrive, so take cash. And service can be slow; dishes are prepared to order. Although he does much of the cooking, two of his children, Julie and Jimmy, help out.
Phnom Penh Restaurant: 3537 Independence Ave. 816-231-1700. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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Menu sampler
Phnom Penh machu: $8.95
Phnom Penh beefsticks: 5.95
Cha kreung: $6.95
But Trou and his mother, Tuoch Keo, were among the lucky few who survived the slaughter that was later chronicled in “The Killing Fields.”
They escaped Cambodia and lived in refugee camps along the Thai border from 1979 to 1981. While in the camp, Trou worked for the American Embassy. In 1982 the two of them made their way to Kansas City. He has not been back since, although his mother has made a few trips home. Instead, he’s paying homage to his country through food.
In March Trou opened Phnom Penh Restaurant. He’d owned a Chinese restaurant years ago but had never included food from his homeland on the menu.
And I’d never had Cambodian food. It reminded me a little bit of Thai and Vietnamese food, although it was lighter than Thai and not as spicy as Vietnamese.
An exception was the Phnom Penh beefsticks, chewy, bite-size nuggets of beef threaded on a stick and served as an appetizer. Lacquered with a sweet, earthy sauce, the beefsticks were served with a shredded green papaya salad dressed in a bitingly spicy dressing.
Two of us shared three entrees, not knowing just how generous the portions were. The cha kreung was a mess of beef slices, green peppers and yellow onion slices spooned over white rice. The mee ka-thaing reminded me of pad Thai, without the fish sauce aroma and lime juice bite of the Thai dishes. The wide rice noodles were tossed with chopped Chinese broccoli, eggs and beef.
The favorite was the Phnom Penh machu, a tamarind-based brothy soup seasoned with crispy garlic pieces and loaded with pan-fried catfish hunks, lotus root slices, tomatoes, pineapple, Thai basil and chunks of some sort of Asian gourd. The tamarind gave the broth a snappy citrus taste. The lotus root, threaded with tiny holes, looked like pasta and had a vegetal crunch. The gourd pieces, which looked like cucumber, were slithery but al dente, while the pineapple gave the soup a tropical sweetness. It was fabulous.
Trou has two Cambodian desserts: sarai, a Cambodian-style gelatin made with coconut milk and loaded with jackfruit and longan, and loat, a dessert soup made with cooked tapioca flour bits stirred into a sweet cane sugar and coconut milk syrup.
A couple of things to keep in mind: Trou was waiting on the credit card machine to arrive, so take cash. And service can be slow; dishes are prepared to order. Although he does much of the cooking, two of his children, Julie and Jimmy, help out.
Phnom Penh Restaurant: 3537 Independence Ave. 816-231-1700. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
--------
Menu sampler
Phnom Penh machu: $8.95
Phnom Penh beefsticks: 5.95
Cha kreung: $6.95
6 comments:
Those who couped Somdach Euv should also be accountable for the dead of Khmer people and should be try by the ECCC along with the Khmer Rouge leaders.
Thank you! Mr. Trou! For bringing about our Khmer soup on the menu. I love to see more on the menu. I love Somlor Machu: (Somlor Machu Kroeung Such-Kor, Somlor Machu Kroeung Spare-rib, Somlor Machu YOUN, Somlor Machu Sreh...etc) I love them all!!!!!!!!!!!!
congratulations, mr. saroeun trou. this is a good business to go into, although a lot of hard works. anyway, good to have khmer restaurant. i hope more khmer can go into the khmer food restaurant like the thai and viet. this is way, too, we can let the know know about our rich khmer cuisine and khmer food as we are less known by our food when compare to thailand and vietnam. please help make khmer food famous worldwide.
more khmer people should open more khmer food restaurant to cater to americans and other westerners. more competition with the thai and the viet is good good for khmer. have a change of heart and attitude and learn from thai and viet. if they can do it, khmer should be able to do it as well. just change some attitude, that's all.
khmer must know. this restaurant business is easy to go into as it does not require a college degree or one to know the english language influently. that is why many thai and viets go into it becuase that is the only thing they really know how living in america or overseas in general as restaurant business doesn't require one to know the local language fluently like in other business. so khmer learn from the thai and viet when go into the restaurant business. yes, it's work hard, but can make a lot of money as well as getting the west to know and like you food as well. this is how the thai, the chinese, the viets, japanese,etc... do it in america and other area overseas. go for it khmer people. you can do it, just learn the business side of it because even if you speak english well or any other well, you know how to cook good khmer food, go for it. no college or skill in anything, but cooking khmer food is required. good money making, i tell you all.
Can you open a restaurant in kansas!?
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