I am really starting to think Cambodian food is not the cuisine that people are just ok with. You either hate it or you love it. Of course I may sound biased but I love Cambodian food and I happen to be Cambodian. For the ones say it is boring or bland, and comparing cambodian food to thai I must say I'm quite shocked. Its all in opinion really but I have to say to a certain degree, cambodian food is rather bland. Not too long ago, I ate lunch during Cambodian new year at the temple, where people are very communal and we all share our food we brought from home. On a long extended table there were bowls of anything you can imagine. I was so tempted to try a bowl of Cambodian beef curry soup. I tried it and was awfully disappointed. It was very salty. I tried another stew called 'Caw' and that was rather on the sweet side. This led me to thinking that there aren't many Cambodians who can cook, not even the ones who own restaurants. Google search cambodian food and the first link you'll see is wikipedia. Trust it or not, but I provided most of the photos on that page. The amok picture is from a different user, but as for all the others they were originally plated by myself. I'm not trying to promote anything, but tell me which of the food items you have tried.

"The author of this article almost sounds like some old white Texas republicans discussing their travels."

Did the person who wrote this even read the article? The point the author made was not that a restaurant has to be upscale (after all, he certainly sought out and enjoyed the "dives") but rather he theorized that the reason Cambodian cuisine hasn't caught on is that the general public needs an upscale restaurant to authenticate the cuisine.

As for all of the comments that Cambodian cuisine is "bland," I am genuinely baffled. Both on visits to Cambodia and at a few of the restaurants mentioned in the article, I found the food to be delicate, complex, fresh, and unusal.

Finally, to all of those complaining about the spelling of "amok," ummm, why do you care? All food has outside influences, and this article is about Cambodian food. I'm not sure I understand the Thai defensiveness. If the article had been about Austrian food would you have insisted that we only speak German?

I'm going there tomorrow for about 10 days. Any restaurant recommendations for Siem Reap or Phnom Pen?

"Boston's Somerville" makes as much sense as "New York's White Plains." Somerville is a city north of Cambridge, which is across the river from Boston. Not the same city.

And Carambola is in Waltham (or was, until it changed it's name to reflect the Elephant Walk brand). This is easily Googled.

Sloppy writing, and sloppy editing, Salon. Please maintain your usual high standards.

Certainly different from thai and viet food. I ate there through the early 90s and miss it terribly.

The small spring rolls they serve are incredible. I don't know if they are unique to the owner or are typical for Cambodian food, but they are perfectly crispy, not greasy.

I still remember the samlaw curry and I've not eaten there since 1994.

I'd say that Cambodian food is a lot more accessible to folks who find thai or viet too spicy or strongly flavored.

In the early-mid 1980's there were several Cambodian restaurants in the SF Tenderloin district (a traditional landing place for new arrivals). All of these seem to have disappeared. However, Angkor-Borei restaurant at 3471 Mission St. @ Cortland has traditional dishes that are excellent, so if you're in the neighborhood, stop by.

I have never understood the necessity of creating a "high-end" version of an ethnic cuisine. Most S. Asian cuisines are based on superb renditions of SIMPLE, inexpensive ingredients. The more high-end the restaurant, the further they get away from the traditional tastes and flavors, the same way that French haute cuisine differs from traditional French peasant dishes (which I consider far superior).

In general, the simple stuff is ALWAYS the true expression of a region's cuisine.

My experience at Elephant Walk was that the food was quite different from Thai or Burmese, but not particularly tasty. Nothing that I tried made me want to come back for more. I'd much prefer a Burmese dinner at Mandalay in Silver Spring, Maryland, where an astonishingly large share of the menu is both tasty and memorable.

I went to Cambodia last year and really enjoyed the food. As many have already said -- it was quite a bit like Thai food with some Khmer and Frech-inspired specialities sprinkled in. Given the history of the region, not that surprising. The one main difference I found was that it was a lot less spicy-hot than Thai food. For some, that may equate to bland; for me, it was perfect. The other main thing going for Cambodian food (in Cambodia) was the incredibly fresh fruits and vegetables. They were amazing. You might be able to recreate the receipes, but if you don't have the fresh ingredients, it just won't be the same.

<<I think the author’s real premise is there aren’t any ‘trendy,’ expensive Cambodian places to eat in Manhattan>>

I agree. I thought the big thing about New York was supposed to be the "ethnic dives." I guess that has changed, or else something about liberalism has changed to where you get a pass on being down with the people if you're a rich aesthetically discriminating foodie.

I call bullshit. Actually I call bourgeois capitalist whatchamacallit. Salon is a liberal publication? I hear enough endless jabber about expensive restaurants from my NPR-listening co-workers who think they're liberal because they go to poetry readings and French restaurants and never heard of Air America much less Salon or any liberal blogs.

The author of this article almost sounds like some old white Texas republicans discussing their travels.

I don't mean to be too hard on the rich foodies who also roll up their sleeves and work for causes (funny, none of the ones I know seem to) but supposing there are some...still, having refined tastes does not a liberal make. At some point maybe it just makes another capitalist pig.