Heng Lay Restaurant — Restaurant in Lowell

We had a fantastic evening at Heng Lay on Sunday, Aug.9. The food was terrific, and the atmosphere was welcoming and festive. We brought a young family friend who spent 2 years in the Peace Corp in Cambodia, in a small village living with a family for the entire two years. She speaks fluent Khmer, and was able to talk with the owner and her entire family in their native language, exchange stories, tell jokes, and look at cellphone pictures of the native land. Our friend absolutely loved the food and said it was the most authentic Cambodian restaurant she has visited since her return. This was our second visit to Heng Lay and we will return soon and often. This is a gem, very modest in appearance, in a kind of residential neighborhood, a bit out of the downtown Lowell area. Set your GPS for the address and prepare for a...

I feel that the staff needs a bit more training. The beginning service starts off fine, but the waitresses never comes back to ask if the food is okay or if we needed anything else. It feels like they don’t want to serve younger Asian customers because tradition was taught that we respect our elders. Therefore, my fiancé had noticed that there was a waitress that paid more attention to a customer more of her age, and the customer had a Caucasian significant other or friend. She treated the man with utmost attention and respect where as she gave my Asian (her same nationality) fiancé a dirty look when he simply and respectfully asked for a bowl of sauce. The food is fine and it has one of my fiancé’s favorite dish... but after that experience we never went back due to that waitress treating...

This is my go-to Cambodian restaurant ever! My boyfriend and I make it a point to stop by here whenever we are in North Andover. We only ever order the same two things here - beef stew noodles and the shaken beef! The shaken beef comes with a delicious pork broth soup that is so good. Unfortunately it does not come with the order if you order take out - only dine in I believe. The shaken beef is nice and tender with great flavor. The beef stew noodle soup has a flavor that I never had before and it's quite addicting. It's hard for me to finish a bowl of noodles, but I'm always finishing this one! The staff is always so friendly. I love...