Angkor Cambodian Bistro

"New York City has a serious dearth of Cambodian restaurants. Hit mini-chain Num Pang fills some of that void with its sandwiches, but the closure of Angkor Cambodian Bistro has left it without a full-service restaurant representing the breadth of the cuisine of the Southeast Asian nation. Owner and chef Minh Truong ran the beloved Chelsea restaurant Royal Siam before opening this establishment on New Year’s Eve in 2015. Truong fled the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and moved to New York City as a teenager in the early ’80s. At Angkor, along with his wife and co-chef, Mandy, Truong was finally able to fully showcase his roots through dishes like the traditional Cambodian seafood curry amok and the nyoam, comprising curried fish sauce, rice noodles, and herbs. The Michelin Guide gave the restaurant a Bib Gourmand designation the year after its opening, a tremendous source of pride for the Truongs, according to their son Phillip. In fact, the guide had to create a section just for Cambodian food in New York following the distinction, he says. While the restaurant is no more, the Truongs hope diners will remember the establishment’s warm embrace and encourage more people to visit the Southeast Asian nation when the pandemic is over." - Eater Staff

"After five years on the Upper East Side, Angkor Cambodian Bistro is closing as a direct result of the pandemic. In a note on their website, owners Minh and Mandy Truong write, “We must sadly come to terms that the current crisis is not something we can weather.” The Cambodian dishes at Angkor are uniformly delicious and hard to find in the area. But still, Angkor was one of the best kept secrets of the UES, which no longer feels quite so charming now that they’re closing. Angkor’s sweet barbecued pork sausage deserved its own photo on a Times Square billboard or an ad in the New York Times Style section. Angkor’s tables should have been booked two weeks in advance, and its rice flour banh chao crepe should have been part of daily office small talk. What can we do for Angkor now? For the rest of July, you can order takeout or delivery, or stop by their patio for limited outdoor dining. Call 212-758-2111 to place your order or reserve a table ahead of time. What can we do for other small, independent restaurants like Angkor that are in danger of closing? 1) Get congress to pass The Restaurants Act, which would create a $120 billion grant program for non-chain restaurants who have lost business in the wake of federally mandated social-distancing orders. Read more about getting involved with their initiative and the easy ways to contact your representatives here. 2) Order some food and tip generously. Here’s What to Order From Angkor Before It Closes: Food Rundown photo credit: Noah Devereaux Nem Nuong These two triple decker lollipops of barbecued pork meatballs are perfect summer food. They’re sweet, meaty, highly addicting, and come with a sticky rice dipping sauce. Nyoam For our fellow fish lovers out there, this red curry noodle dish with ground fish will feel like an engagement ring. Except you get to eat it and you don’t have to plan a wedding during a global health crisis. photo credit: Noah Devereaux Duck Salad There’s no lettuce in this salad. Which got us thinking: what if all salads used sliced duck instead of boring lettuce? Well, we’d all have severe heart problems, but if those salads were nearly as acidic and fresh as Angkor’s, we’d probably be okay with it. Salad is a social construct anyway." - Hannah Albertine

"Angkor Cambodian Bistro at 408 East 64th Street, near First Avenue, will permanently close on August 1, owners Minh and Mandy Truong announced in a Facebook post. The restaurant faced a significant drop in revenue since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, losing business due to a decrease in alcohol sales, international visitors, and patrons from the nearby Weill Cornell hospital. Despite offering takeout and delivery, and opening a backyard seating area, the financial strain was too great. Prior to Angkor, the Truongs ran Royal Siam, a Chelsea Thai staple. The restaurant offered Khmer curries, sliced duck salad, and frog legs. The Truongs are selling the restaurant's artwork and will update future plans on Facebook." - Tanay Warerkar

"This acclaimed Cambodian restaurant has been taking orders over the phone for its popular Khmer curriers, sliced duck salad, and frog legs cooked a variety of ways amid the pandemic. For outdoor dining, the restaurant directs customers to order over the phone ahead of time and then diners can take their meals out to the backyard where a handful of tables have been spaced six feet apart. Staff will be serving wine to outdoor diners." - Eater Staff

"Angkor Cambodian Bistro is only doing takeout right now. Call 212-758-2111 ahead of time to place your order for things like BBQ pork hash, red curry, and an excellent duck salad." - Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren, Bryan Kim, Arden Shore, Matt Tervooren