Congee and Cambodian

I had been meaning to check out Kampuchea since I tried their ribs at the Village Voice 1st annual Choice eats, one year ago. Since I am an enthusiast of multiple stops when going out for a meal and in order to keep the prices down by filling up for cheap beforehand, I went to Congee Village for part I of dinner. I love the over the top decor and learned they host karaoke parties in rooms downstairs. We were seated at a tiny table in the little room in the back. The menu is huge and the prices are low low low. They also have a decent drink menu with cheap drinks and an even cheaper happy hour at the bar. I usually go for the mushroom and chicken congee here, but my friend does not care for mushrooms and we went for the high roller chicken with abalone instead. The congee was huge and satisfying as usual, a fair sustitute for chicken soup if feeling under the weather. We also ordered a squid dish with cashews and onions that we gobbled down quickly.

100 Allen st


We walked over to Kampuchea and had no wait- it was a Friday night but before the dinner rush. The long tables are communal and the seats are bar stools, my back was not happy about that. The corner location of the restaurant and many windows allow for great people watching. We shared the ribs, which falls under the category "hot small plate". It was a larger portion than I thought it would be. With the meat falling off the bone, the strong porky flavors, and the addictive cilantro sauce these ribs are a must order. The ribs come from duroc pigs, which are apparently very aggressive piggies that taste amazing. We stuck with the duroc theme with our other order- duroc pork num pang, a vibrant sandwich with all those fixins (cilantro, carrots, etc) that make people crazy for the Vietnamese banh mi and more recently for this Cambodian alternative. Such sandwiches are now available at Kampuchea owner's Num Pang.

78 Rivington St