I recently tried Cambodian food for the first time at Phnom Penh restaurant in Oakland. The restaurant located off MacArthur Blvd and the area host many cool little stores and eateries. The restaurant initially was located in Oakland’s Chinatown, but now has a permanent fixture in Oakland. They also have another location situated in Alameda; however, I have only been to the Oakland location.

There aren’t a ton of Cambodian restaurants around this area, but this restaurant is a great find as the restaurant is very welcoming, family run, and the food is excellent. You will find some traditional Cambodian dishes here.

On my last visit, I ordered the deep fried calamari and Hamok Trei. Both dishes are equally delicious.

DEEP FRIED CALAMARI:

This dish consisted of deep fried calamari in butter mixed with black pepper and served with a sweet chili sauce (most likely Mae Ploy sauce). This sauce is an excellent accompaniment to fried foods like spring rolls, fried chicken, or other appetizers.

This appetizer is great. The batter is light, and the calamari is tender and not overly chewy. I’ve had calamari at other restaurants where the squid was horrendously non-edible. Once you bite into each piece, they’re very crispy, and the batter doesn’t fall off. (I hate it when that happens to my food!)

HAMOK TREI

Hamok trei (Amok trey) or Cambodian steamed fish is considered the national dish of Cambodia.

This dish is very flavorful and includes sliced fish cooked with coconut juice, lemongrass, then wrapped and steamed. The meal I had included catfish, but I believe different types of fish can be incorporated here.

The fish comes in a little pot that looks similar to a small clay pot used to retain the heat of the food. When you dig into this, the top layer has a nice “crust,” and when you dig even further, you find flaky and tender fish with a soup-like base and vegetables (I don’t recall what type of veggies, but they were delicious as well).

The dish has a robust flavor but is not overwhelming, and all the flavors incorporate richly. It’s filling, satisfying, and accompanied with rice makes for a very comforting dish.

The restaurant has many other great dishes including curries, seafood, and grilled meats, and vegetarian options. I’ve tried roasted pork or (Sach Chhrouk Ann Kreun) on a previous occasion, and the pork was outstanding. The meat has a great char-grilled flavor and is exceptionally tender and mouthwatering. The meat had the right amount of fat without going overboard.

Prices for each dish are very reasonable, and service is always friendly and welcoming. If you’re in the area and craving a cuisine you’ve never tried before, check this place out, you won’t regret it.

BUSINESS INFORMATION: (Two Locations)

Phnom Penh Restaurant

Laurel Business District

3912 MacArthur Boulevard Oakland, CA 94619

AND

Webster Business District

1514 Webster Street Alameda, CA 94501

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This local spot is in the Inner Richmond District of San Francisco and is close to Golden Gate Park (if you haven’t visited this park, add it to your list of stuff do when you visit). My neighborhood has Chinese-American influences predominantly. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants and markets in this area. However, this has started to change, and you’ll now likely see different Asian places cropping up: Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese. A lot of great eating establishments to satiate any appetite.

Ok, so let’s talk about the food. The little place I’m talking about is called “First Korean Market.” I believe my aunt was the person who told me about this small store. They have a lot of readymade Korean fare, and also other dry goods, and other Korean specialties. (Of course Kimchi).

When I come to this place, I almost always get the same things, because they’re excellent and I crave them.

FISH CAKE KIMBAP

The fish cake kimbap or (Korean sushi roll), is wonderfully delicious. This particular roll had fish cake, carrot, egg, sesame-flavored rice, pickled radish, spinach, and cucumber. Different types of meat including beef, crab meat, ham, to name a few others can be used in this dish.

This roll is always very fresh, and I like that the rice doesn’t have too much of a sesame flavor. I’ve tried other similar rolls, where the rice had an overwhelming and robust sesame taste. I’m not opposed to sesame. In fact, I do love sesame, but just not when it overpowers the flavor profile of a dish. I love the combination of veggies and fish cake. It just creates excellent emulsification of taste.

This roll is better eaten right away or the same day. Unfortunately, once you place the rolls in the fridge, the rice gets ridiculously hard and isn’t so tasty anymore.

SWEET CRISPY CHICKEN

This chicken is quite possibly one of my favorite dishes. Ok, it’s relatively sweet, but man it’s tasty as heck. This dish is traditionally called Dakgangjeong. This chicken dish is with a whole chicken that is cut up into pieces or with just chicken wings.

The glaze consists of honey, garlic, and ginger and then deep fried. Yeah, anything deep fried is GOOOOD.

At Korean First Market, the chicken comes in the form of chicken wings. It’s in a sticky, sweet, glaze and it’s very garlicky (yay! I love garlic). The flavors combine just oh so well. It’s a little bit messy to eat, but isn’t that where the fun’s at? Eating sticky and sweet chicken and then licking your fingers. It doesn’t get any better than that.

You should also eat this chicken dish within the same day for that taste of freshness.

These two food items will set you back about $14. Pricing at this store is about the going rate for this market.

Bottom line, if you want some tasty Korean favorites in the Inner Richmond District of San Francisco, check this place out.

FIRST KOREAN MARKET
4625 Geary Blvd.
San Francisco, CA 94118

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Yojimbo is a Japanese restaurant located in a hidden spot. If you walk down the sidewalk and you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss where the restaurant is. When you walk inside the restaurant, you’re always warmly greeted and service is friendly and efficient.

PORK RAMEN

The boyfriend and I opted for the pork ramen with a miso +spicy soup base. The bowl consists of ramen, egg, assorted veggies, and a garnish of seaweed. The standout of the dish would have to be the pork (extremely flavorful, tender, and juicy). When they bring the bowl to you, you’re also astounded by how huge it is! This can feed two people without a doubt. For me, ramen bowls always tend to be a tad bit too salty, but I did like the overall flavor of this and whenever you add a soft-boiled and ooey-gooey egg, I’m sold.

They have a couple of other soup bases you can choose from and if you’re not into spicy foods, you can omit this option.

SUSHI COMBO A

We also got this sushi combo which includes California rolls, choice of Tekka Maki (tuna sushi roll). You can also opt for salmon. Also included are some assorted pieces of Nigiri (thin slices of raw fish pressed over vinegary rice).

The sushi here is fresh and I would highly recommend coming here for the many different options included in the menu. The spider rolls (deep-fried soft shell crab, with avocado and cucumber are really good).

Another recommendation would also be the bento boxes. The teriyaki bento box is humungous! This can literally feed 3-4 people. It’s super tasty and really filling.

In my opinion, I wouldn’t recommend the Tonkatsu dishes. For some reason, this lacks some flavor and is just blah.

Overall, if you’re looking for unassuming Japanese cuisine, check this place out if you’re in the East Bay or Alameda area.

Yojimbo is open Monday-Saturday from 11:00AM-9:00PM and closed on Sundays.

YOJIMBO

1221 PARK ST.

ALAMEDA, CA 94501

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I absolutely love Asian food and pork (of course, I’m Chinese).

I’ve expanded my eating repertoire to include many different types of Asian fare and it’s great to find such a multitude of dishes to please any palate.

I enjoy exploring new restaurants with my other half. We decided to check this place out as we were just in the area after playing a game of tennis.

I know, I know. You’re thinking she’s going to eat this after playing tennis??!! Well, I did and it was all delicious!

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Roast Pork

This dish incorporates one of my favorite things: pork. If there’s pork in it, I’m totally there. This is totally “get in my belly Asian food” : )

I grew up eating both Chinese sausage and roast pork and they really are my two favorite dishes to eat (albeit not too healthy). Regardless, both delicious and when you incorporate them into a fried rice dish, well yum!

This fried rice dish incorporates both pork styles along with egg, green onions, and tomatoes topped with cilantro and cucumber.

Fresh Spring Rolls

We had this along with our main dishes and they were very delicious to say the least! Mint, cucumber, carrot, basil, vermicelli noodle, and cilantro served with the requisite peanut sauce and another sweet and spicy sauce.

Rolls were very fresh and the flavors really accompanied each other well.

The service here was fairly marginal. We were quick to be seated upon arrival and we received our food pretty quickly. However, it took a little longer to get drinks refreshed and our bill.

All in all a good experience here and I would return to try some of the different menu items.

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Business: Thai Noodle House of Alameda

Address: 1700 Park Street, Ste 100, Alameda, CA 94501

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My boyfriend and I were craving Thai food and were wondering what new restaurant to try.

We happened upon a really cool and interesting restaurant in Oakland. It’s a pretty nondescript restaurant from the outside, but when you enter, you find that it’s really quite charming.

Coconut Curry Chicken with Vegetables

Pictured above is some coconut curry with chicken and veggies. Rich and with full-bodied flavor (and of course some kick!) This was definitely a very comforting dish that I would welcome again on a cold day.

The service at the restaurant was also very friendly and accommodating.

Business: Old Weang Ping

Address: 6217 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94605

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