Phnom Penh House — Restaurant in Alameda

Simply a cut above, this family run business, in what to me, is an obscure location, (Webster St. in Alameda, I need to check out Alameda more often), Offers Real regional Cambodian food, made by chefs who REALLY know what they are doing. For those uninitiated, Cambodian Food, is similar in some aspects to to other southeast Asian cuisines, but tends to be a little less sweet, and more fragrant and piquant, than a lot of Thai restaurants, (Some of which I simply adore) and have some Salads, and soups unique to their region. Among the dishes we ordered with a bottle of Sake' (Which was a surprise to me for how well it went with this food) were the following: 106: Noum Om Beng, a Cambodian Prawn crepe stuffed w/pork, shrimp, coconut, & bean sprout served w/ peanut sauce, served with large lettuce leaf, which you use as a wrap. Incredibly savory and crunchy and just a hint of sweetness too. 108, Norm Moarn Chicken Salad, a Tangy and fresh, Chicken breast mixed w/ shredded cabbage, carrot, onion, mint leaves tossed w/ house made dressing. Refreshing. 643, Prawns in Vegetable Delux , Prawns sautéed w/ broccoli flowers, mushroom, snow peas, baby corn, bamboo shoot, & Napa Cabbage (Choice of mild red or spicy green curry sauce). Succulent, and herb-y green curry really makes this dish! Perfectly spicy too. 213: Samlaw Machhou Phnom-Penh, zesty and deeply flavored Soup cooked w/ prawn, fish, pineapple, tomato, lemongrass, & tamarind paste. Amazing. similar in some ways to the Thai soup called "Tom Kha Kai", but with deeper smokier flavors balanced by the brightness of the pineapple. 641: Cha Bangkea, Tender prawns simmered in mild chili peanut sauce served w/ cooked cabbage. This is taking comfort food to a whole other level. I have always had a thing for peanut sauce, but when you mix it with with savory prawns, you absolutely have my attention.

One thing about this restaurant is that all the dished tasted really fresh, like they had just gone to market an hour earlier for all their ingredients. The outdoor seating, now available since the lifting of the Ban in Alameda, make for the perfect outdoor dining experience, and a much needed place to get out to and spend some time outside as well. The finishing dessert, the classical Fried Banana and ice cream was great, and here they really shined, because the banana was REALLY fresh, the crispy batter REALLY hot and crunchy and the ice cream tasted like Häagen-Dazs, or some other top shelf ice cream and not something cheap. All in all I cannot recommend this restaurant, and if you haven't begun your adventure into Cambodian and regional Southeast Asian cuisine this is a great place to...

I spotted Phnom Penh Restaurant while driving down Webster St. during one of my weekly visits to Alameda so I decided to give it a try. At around 9 pm which is close to their closing time there were about 2 tables full. After going through the menu, I settled on Sachkor Cha Ktis ($8.99) which as per their menu is tender beef simmered in curry flavor peanut butter sauce served w/ cooked spinach and steamed rice ($2) to-go. I could pay using my card so no issues there. During the short 10-minute wait for the food I was served some hot tea.

I got two containers one with the curry which and the other with the rice. As expected the curry had a strong ground peanut taste but in a good kind of way. The spinach was cooked well and overall to my surprise the dish came together very well. As I liked what I got I stopped by a second time and this time got the Sachor Cha Somdech ($8.99) which as per their menu is beef sautéed w/ sweet pea, mushroom, bamboo shoot, carrot & onion and steam rice ($2) to-go. I was really impressed with this dish. The beef was not chewy and the flavors were not your generic Thai food variety and seemed to be unique to the region purported by their name. Overall a pretty good experience.

Price-wise they are in line or maybe a tad below what you will pay for similar dishes in Thai restaurants in Alameda but the taste of their dishes is unique. The portion size is not very big but enough for one person with a moderate appetite. My only complaint is that they give the entrée in a paper box (like the one that you get the rice in) which makes it completely soggy by the time you reach home. For most people it would not be a problem but for someone who must eat out of the box it becomes a bit of a hassle to have the container disintegrate on you in the middle of your meal. I think they should just charge some more for a to-go container and give the entrée in a proper plastic box. Apart from this I could not find any other issue so this is going to be a generous 4.5 stars rounded up...

This place use to be in Oakland. The owners moved into a more nicer facility in Alameda few years back. The location can pose a challenge for parking and it's always crowded. But, it's worth the wait and worth the challenge for finding parking just to dine here.

As soon as you walk in, you're treated to fresh authentic Cambodian food aroma that just makes you that much more hungry. This family owned and operated restaurant prepares the food fresh and without MSG. Surprisingly the food is not expensive compare to other less flavorful places.

We've been here many times and haven't had a dish we didn't like. But some of my recommended must try include their stuffed chicken wings, fried chicken wings, Papaya Salad (a bit spicy). For entrees, the their Eggplant, shrimp and mince pork is a must try and very savory that goes well with a bowl of white rice. If you're not an Eggplant person, go for their yellow curry; it is one of the best Southeast Asian flavors I've ever tasted. For Vegetarians, you can't go wrong with their Tofu String Beans.

To finish of the meal make sure you get their fried banana and ice cream. They use a very thin, light batter for their fried banana and the oil they fry it in is clean without cross contaminate taste (other places would use the same frying oil with...