Cambodian Cuisine Torsu (New York, NY)

From the Cambodian Cuisines Website

Julius and I were out for a romp on a recent, blustery night. Usually we go west to the water, but the wind was threatening to whisk us into the ocean, so we turned tail and headed east to Washington Square Park and surrounds, instead. We'd done our usual meander and had stopped just for a moment to chase biscuits in the nice, flat Stern Business School courtyard, when suddenly, a glorious vision came into focus before my eyes: a big yellow truck with the words "Cambodian Cuisine Torsu" emblazoned on the side.

Cambodian? How many Cambodian (a.k.a. Khmer) restaurants are there in Manhattan? Not many. According to Google, there are two -- The Norry and Bun & Co. -- and I've never been to either. So of course, I couldn't resist this truck's bright yellow allure. Before I knew it, I'd been involuntarily drawn to the ordering window and was asking the very nice lady behind it for her advice on what to eat.

It turns out that the truck is a reincarnation of Cambodian Cuisine, a restaurant that began with a storefront in Brooklyn and later moved to the Upper East Side. (I think "torsu" means "on wheels.") Evidently, they were forced to move both times because of lease disputes with landlords. The restaurant's website describes their side of the story.

In truth, I don't know Khmer cuisine very well at all. I fell for it hard during the one short summer when I lived in Oakland, where there's a sizable Cambodian expat community. In Boston, Justin and I were regulars at the Elephant Walk, when we lived there years ago. But we've never been to Cambodia, we've never eaten at the homes of Cambodian friends. So I can only judge these dishes based on my highly subjective tastes, not based on any deep knowledge of the cuisine.

S.E.A. Chhar Kroeurn

In any event, back to the food. The nice lady at the window suggested that I order the S.E.A. Chhar Kroeurng (sauteed chicken or tofu with hot and spicy basil, lemongrass, galangal, onion, cabbage, bell pepper and baby bok choy on white or brown rice). Kroeung or kroeurng is a generic term for a curry / spice paste that's used as the flavor foundation for many different dishes (similar to curry pastes in Thai cuisine). Here, the paste and the dish tasted fairly simple and straightforward. I couldn't pick out the flavor of lemongrass or see evidence of bok choy, but to be fair, I came at 10 p.m., just as they were ready to close up shop. They're allowed to cut corners at that hour. The stirfry was cooked to order and enjoyable to eat, with good, fresh vegetables, cooked with some bite left. Chicken was juicy and of good quality.

Karry Tuek

I also ordered the Karry Tuek (curry of lemongrass, galangal and coconut milk with sliced chicken, bamboo, water chestnuts, brown potatoes and bread, served over vermicelli). This was a very pleasant, balanced dish with the most delicious "brown potatoes" -- which I don't think refers to the skin color, but to the fact that the potatoes had been previously roasted -- and a generous amount of canned bamboo shoots, which I happen to love. All of the ingredients, except the chicken, had been cooked in the liquid for a while, and were thoroughly infused with flavor. The curry came with a customary slice of crispy baguette, a nod to Cambodia's past as a French colony.

I wasn't blown away by the two dishes I tried, in truth, but I thought they were enjoyable to eat and a ridiculously good bargain for the amount and quality: All main course dishes are $5.75. Soups and appetizer salads are about $3.50. Also, I'm a sucker for anything I haven't tried before. I'll certainly be seeking out this truck, again, especially to try the soups while the weather's still cool -- and then the shaved ice when the weather turns warm.

Location: Varies*

Menu: http://www.cambodiancuisinetorsu.com/main.html#6,0

* I found them in front of Stern Business School at 44 West 4th Street, New York 10012, on a Monday night, around 10 p.m. They said they usually park on nearby LaGuardia St. near W. 3rd, though I haven't seen them there, before, either. Supposedly they'll be updating their location through Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/camcuisinetorsu