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Restaurant Review: Worth a Trek to Angkor Borei

December 21, 2007 by BONNEE WALDSTEIN

Recently Glen Park has become a bona fide destination for foodies from the neighborhood and
beyond. Now couples and groups can be seen walking through the village in their dressy casuals, alongside the locals in their flip-flops getting their forty bucks from the ATM.

Lest we become too insulated in our cozy restaurant cocoon, I recommend we venture out. less than a mile from Dia­mond and Bosworth streets, to a different world that does not (yet) exist in Glen Park. That world is Indochina, specifically Cambodia, at a little place called Angkor Borei on the quiet part of Mission Street (Angkor for the temple Angkor Wat; borei, meaning city in Cambodian).

While some Glen Parkers have fre­quented Angkor Borei for a long time, it is better known by the Bernal crowd. Angkor Borei has been family owned and operated for the past 20 years by Tom Probpan and Chinhan Yat. The two are so cheerful and friendly, they greet their regulars with a warm hug.

Look at Cambodia on a map and it’s apparent what makes its cuisine so inter­esting. It carries influences from Thailand, Vietnam, China, India (curry) and France (from days of colonial domination).

Yat explains the essence of Cam­bodian cuisine-first, fresh vegetables, lightly cooked or raw; second, herbs and spices, the same as Thai but lighter ­tamarind, basil, cilantro, cumin, garlic, tunneric, lime leaf and galinga (similar to ginger root), to name just a few. Then there are the dipping sauces, which layer yet another dimension onto the fascinating flavor mix.

The wide variety of ingredients combine to yield complex flavors that are nevertheless distinct within the dish. They are paired with the fresh vegetables and simply cooked meat and seafood and the intriguing sauces. In addition to white rice, a welcome option is brown rice, which is not a Cambodian tradition, but its plumpness and nutty flavor makes for a nourishing completeness to the meal.

Crispy spring roll appetizers (No. I on the menu, $6.95, as are most appe­tizers) are a surprising departure from the usually greasy wraps and soggy vegetables of many restaurants. Here the wrapper is crisp and the vegetables inside are cnmchy, a great way to start the meal. Likewise, the crispy Cambo­dian crepe (No. 9) is true to its name. Another choice is chicken salad (No. 8), which, again, is not what you’d expect. No fried noodles or iceberg lettuce.just lots of different vegetables and chicken, flavored with cilantro. Fresh spinach leaves (No. 7) are used to wrap a num­ber of ingredients such as peanuts, lime, onion and ginger, which are then dipped in sauce and have a taste that is more than the sum of its parts. Sour soup (No. 12, $8.75), with pineapple and winter melon, is another good starter.

Entrees, around $9-$ 12, run the gamut from beef, pork and chicken to seafood, vegetables and noodles. There are also vegetarian dishes fea­turing mock duck (made with seitan) and other inventions. Charbroiled pork slices (No. 30) are served with raw cucumbers and tomatoes, which are an amazing contrast of smoky flavor and fresh sensation. Slices of beef (No. 20) are simmered in yellow curry peanut sauce. Every category on the menu features a curry, a flavor that tends to dominate, whatever the dish. A favorite chicken dish is sauteed chicken (No. 35) with green beans, bell peppers, spices and spearmint. The seafood is excellent, particularly the pan-fried fish fillet (No. 49) served with an intensely flavorful garlic sauce. Ahmohk (No. 48) is an unusual specialty, a fish mousse served in a banana leaf basket. Another impres­sive presentation is the baked prawns in foil (No. 44), the foil being in the shape of a bird, positioned to peck into the dipping sauce, and accompanied by fresh cucumbers, celery and carrots.

No Cambodian beer is available (it’s hard to get in California), but there’s Sing Ha, a mild Thai beer that goes well with the distinct flavors of the food. Another option is lemongrass tea. Dessert is not a big preoccupation at Angkor Borei. They usually have one or two choices of Mitchell’s ice cream, and a fried banana, which they do to perfection. With the freshness and diversity of colors and flavors, the food at Angkor Borei feels like food you should be eat­ing. And it’s a restaurant that proves you don ‘1 need to spend a fortune or drive miles from Glen Park to enjoy a great tasting and unique meal, prepared and served by wonderful people.

Angkor Borei
3471 Mission Street near Cortland Daily except Tues., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. www.cambodiankitchen.com

550-8417

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Glen Park Association is at Glen Park Greenway.
4 days ago
Glen Park Association

Saturday’s Glen Park Greenway Work Party is Cancelled.

“I’m very sorry to say that
we have cancelled our Work Party for this Saturday July 12, along with all organized volunteer activity on the Greenway until further notice.
As you may have read in the news, our fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Parks Alliance (SFPA), has shut itself down. Just as SFPA has shut itself down, the Greenway, as an organized part of SFPA, has also been “shut down.” We are busy looking for a suitable alternative fiscal sponsor that is willing to replace SFPA. That search is going well but it is a slow process. We had hoped to find temporary ways to enable the Greenway project to function responsibly as a community activity without a fiscal sponsor. Sadly, despite our best efforts and the help of many others in Glen Park, we have failed. That is why we must cancel our Saturday Work Party and discontinue future work parties and other organized volunteer activity on the Greenway (like weeding and watering) until further notice. We recognize that the Greenway is public open space and that the organizers of the Greenway project have no control over the activities of you or of anyone else on the Greenway. However, if you do venture onto the Greenway to satisfy your urge for outdoor recreation, please be aware that your activity is not in any way organized or sanctioned by the organizers of the Glen Park Greenway project. I’m well aware of the efforts that many of the
Greenway’s supporters are making to get the Greenway organized with a new fiscal sponsor and I’m confident that this will be arranged within weeks or perhaps a few months.
However long it takes, I will contact you with news of our progress.
Many thanks for all that you do for the Greenway.”

Nicholas Dewar, volunteer Project Director

#glenparkgreenway #glenparksf #sanfrancisco @rafaelmandelmand8 @danielluriesf @crosstowntrail
#crosstowntrail #sfparksalliance #publicspace #nature
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Wonder what’s stopping just organizing it separate from that non-profit. It seems like the volunteers largely come from Glen Park.

Glen Park Association is at Laidley Street SFO.
1 week ago
Glen Park Association

It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street!

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
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It was a beautiful day for the annual #july4th celebration on Laidley street! 

📷: Photos courtesy of Michael Waldstein 

#glenparksf #sanfrancisco #laidley
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