The day after CenPho's new Cambodian restaurant, Sekong By Night, opened, a couple of friends and I couldn't wait to try it. What we found was a surprisingly cute little spot done up with burgundy walls, Buddha art, and brocade tablecloths, with a dirt-cheap menu of tasty Cambodian dishes.
To the uninitiated, this cuisine is very similar to Vietnamese, but with some distinctive flavors. My grilled beef sandwich, tucked into a crisp baguette with crunchy pickles, was a dead-ringer for a Vietnamese banh mi, except the beef was fragrant with lemongrass, and there was a generous squeeze of spicy sriracha on top.
I started things off with an iced jasmine tea and a spring roll, filled with bits of chicken. It was nice to get a spring roll that was a little bit bigger than usual, freshly wrapped in tender rice paper. Instead of imposing a portion of two or three, you can order these individually. The accompanying sauce was sweeter than the nuoc cham dip served with the Vietnamese version of spring rolls (it's hard not to compare the two cuisines).
Meanwhile, the newbie kitchen took so long preparing a pork-filled savory crepe that we'd forgotten about it and were waiting for the check when it finally showed up. Alas, it ended up in a styrofoam box and is still in my fridge -- but it sure looks pretty, doesn't it?
I'll definitely be checking back in on this place, sooner rather than later.
