[Oakland] Battambang Restaurant- Cambodian eats

With Nyum Bai attracting all the attention to Cambodian food these days, I thought I’d mention Battambang Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown, the Cambodian restaurant that has been around forever. Battambang is a non-fancy restaurant serving immigrant food without loads of PR, fancy website or decor, and the kind of restaurants that doesn’t get much press attention. It was a good meal. We had:

Sach Chrouk Aing- grilled sliced pork with lemongrass with a lime sauce that tasted of fish sauce. Well-grilled and seasoned.

Prahok ktiss. The minced pork dip came with crunchy cucumbers, eggplants and cabbage. The dip itself was pretty good, with pronounced flavors of lemongrass and fish paste.

Amok trei- catfish lemongrass curry in banana leaf. I haven’t had Nyum Bai’s yet, but this one was pretty fragrant, somewhat sweet, and delicious. 10+ years ago @rwcfoodie mentioned this was a limited item that ran out often. Not sure if this is still the case, but I am glad we had one.

Battambang Noodles- similar to pad thai with a tamarind sauce.

Amok Knor- jackfruit custard steamed in banana leaf with coconut milk. One glorious piece of dessert. Fragrant, delicate and rich. Not dessert for just the sake of having a dessert menu. My favorite of the meal.

Happy to return to try more dishes. Any favorites items from the kitchen? I’ve never been to Phnom Penh in Alameda or when they were in Oakland, or Phnom Penh House. How do they compare?

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I’m fond of the 86. Trorb Aing Eggplant with lime sauce, kind of a Cambodian baba Ghanoush.

I’ve been there twice with large groups, and vegetarians especially enjoyed the meal.

You’re reminding me to re-try Angkor Borei in La Lengua.

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How did you like Angkor Borei when you were there?

I had a few good meals there until maybe years ago and then had a bad takeout meal (ahmok seemed off).

On just one sample, I far prefer Battambang. The Borei amok itself was kinda bland, but the amok plus the dipping lime fish sauce was decent.