Eats - Cambodian

Chez Suvan
2425 S. Bascom Ave.
Campbell, CA
408/371-7711 | www.chezsuvan.com
Mon to Thurs: 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5 p.m.–9 p.m. | Fri & Sat: 11 a.m.–3 p.m., 5 p.m.–10 p.m.
Closed Sundays

I've never had Cambodian food, so I'll have to guess as to the authenticity of the food here. We visited the original location in Campbell, but there's also a second restaurant open for lunch weekdays in downtown San Jose at 923 13th St. (408/287-7619).

We started with a delicious marinated cold tuna salad with sliced iceberg lettuce, roasted rice, fresh coconut, galanga, sauteed shallots, and lime juice. The natural oiliness of the tuna was offset by the tangy dressing. For entrees, we had the chicken version of amok (the other option is catfish), which arrives in a little tent of banana leaf. The chicken meat is mixed with a paste of coconut milk, spinach, lemon grass, lemon herb, galanga, and fish sauce. It was a bit too sweet for my lunch companion, but I loved its mix of flavors. We also had Korko, a stew of bite-sized white meat chicken, Asian squash (kobocha pumpkin), green beans, and green papaya matchsticks in a subtle coconut milk curry. It's strangely addictive because it neither overpowers nor is bland. 07/26

Update 8/14/2004 - We return for lunch. The amok is still good, although I'm apparently the only one that actually likes it. We also had fried catfish fillets with this odd sausage sauce, some pineapple and tomatoes with pork, and squid with vegetables. I can't recommend the latter dish, since it was mostly onions and very little squid. What squid there was, however, was well prepared, tender and not overdone at all.

Update 05/21/2005 - We return for lunch. The amok is still good. In fact, my ex-boyfriend liked it a lot. We also debated over the tuna salad, which was nice but not special (I think the tuna is canned). We finished off with sticky rice with mango with a sprinkling of molar-cracking toasted mung beans, which we absolutely loved the texture of. Out the door for $30.82