• 5
• Pleasant Atmosphere, Yummy Cambodian Food

I had a great experience at Chamkar while in Cambodia. Although the restaurant is pretty hard to find (it's in between two streets in an alley way), it was worth finding it! The inside of the restaurant is pleasant, not too fancy, and open to the outside, although fans keep the restaurant cooler than outdoors. The food sure brings some heat out of you though! I came around 4:00, so of course, it was pretty quiet inside. Still, the waiter I had was very friendly and attentive. They warn you on the menu that could be time to wait before being served for proper food preparation (which is totally understandable; everything is made fresh). That being said, the drink and I appetizer I ordered came out within 10 minutes of ordering! The menu has plenty of choices, with vegan options specified, and your waiter can confirm this as well. I ordered iced tamarind juice, wedding day dip, Cambodian curry secrets, and the last sweetness (dessert). The iced tamarind juice was very nice and interesting; tart and full of flavour, refreshing, and tangy. I loved the wedding day dip appetizer. It's extremely flavourful and coconut-y. It actually reminds me a lot of an Indian dish I used to have. The only thing is the portion is a bit large (lots of baguette slices to go with the dip), especially if you're dining alone like I was! The curry was one of my favourites, and an added bonus is it was served with brown rice. It was a fair bit heavy in the stomach (probably from the coconut milk), but still delicious; a mix of sweet and savory, with the interesting combination of cardamom and coconut milk. The only downside to the experience was the dessert I was hoping to try (traditional Cambodian cake), which I was told was vegan (to my excitement), wasn't available on that day. That being said, it's nothing really to complain about. I ordered another dessert which was sweet and rich, but still light at the same time. It was a banana in coconut milk with tapioca soup type of dessert. Quite a large portion. Overall, the meal was extremely flavourful and filling, and the experience was peaceful and lovely overall :)