The Best Cambodian and Khmer Food in Philly

Daleng Restaurant

With a menu focused on dishes from Southeast Asia, Daleng offers several dishes with roots in Cambodia. Try the Cambodian kroeung stir-fry made with a curry-lemongrass paste, protein, peppers, and basil.

Bistro Southeast

This Rittenhouse Square restaurant celebrates cuisine from across Southeast Asia with a multitude of creative fusion dishes and street eats making their way onto the menu. Here, the fried rice topper with a soft shell crab is a fan favorite as well as the lemongrass pork belly bahn mi.

Mawn

Chef Phila Norm and his wife Rachel brought to life their first restaurant, Mawn, to pay homage to dishes from Cambodia and other parts of Asia. Considered a noodle house with “no rules”, at Mawn, soups reign supreme. Must-try items include the Mawn Noodle Soup, made with chicken breast and thigh poached in a special chicken stock with crispy garlic, and the Beef Noodle Katiew, made with sliced wagyu and braised oxtail.

Sophie’s Kitchen

Formerly the family-owned restaurant Khmer Kitchen, chef and owner Sophia Neth opened Sophie’s Kitchen in 2020 with the same zeal and determination as her parents’ original restaurant. Here, the menu showcases a mix of traditional and modern Cambodian dishes, ranging from sticky tangy tamarind wings and lemongrass beef skewers to cha la prov (a chicken and pumpkin stir-fry) and cha kreoung samout (a seafood-based green curry).

I Heart Cambodia Restaurant

For deeply flavorful dishes made in the Cambodian tradition, look no further than I Heart Cambodia. The broad menu features a variety of Khmer fare, including several vegetarian options. Highlights include the somlor kor ko, a stew made with papaya, pumpkin, eggplant, and rice, and the fish chhian chhoun, made with fried tilapia sautéed with ginger, scallions, black bean sauce, and more.

Heng Seng Restaurant

At this cash-only, family-owned restaurant, Phnom Penh noodle soup and Phnom Penh dry noodles are masterfully prepared with pork, pork liver, pork heart, shrimp, squid, and fish cake. Their fried dough is made fresh at the time of order for diners to eat it as is, dip it in one of their savory noodle soups, or taste alongside one of their spicy meat dishes.

New Phnom Penh Restaurant

This South Philly gem often gets praised for its barbar kroeung (Cambodian congee) that’s full of flavorful pork, shrimp, and spices. Here, there’s plenty of other notable dishes to chose from (such as their tasty loc lak (Khmer pepper beef) and soothing Katiew Phnom Penh (Cambodian noodle soup).

East South Asian Cuisine

A mixture of dishes common to the Southeast Asian diaspora is what makes the menu at East South Asian Cuisine so special. If you’re in the mood for something tasty with roots in Cambodian, try dishes like the beef loc lac (a stir fry beef) or the dry phnom pehn noodle (a traditional noodle dish made with fish and oyster sauces).