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| - As a lover of Thai, Indian and good Mexican food - with all the spice and aroma - a friend (who is also a great Italian cook) suggested we try her new "favorite" spot. In Central Phoenix and housed in a former Mexican restaurant, the food served at this little place is about as good as it gets. A family-run place (if it's busy, you'll need to be a bit patient), with tons of parking in the back and not much of a sign out front, that's easy to love after your first meal.
Not as spicy as Thai, with fresh veggies similar to Vietnamese food, and the richness of Indian, the Cambodian specialties are wonderfully prepared and extremely fresh. Even if you've never had Cambodian cuisine, there is a lot of familiar ingredients and the servers will be happy to help you. This is one of those places where everyone is quite proud of the food they serve and they understand their menu very well.
Try the spring rolls. Both types (fried and fresh) are perfectly made. The main dishes range from rich curries with rice, noodle dishes with chicken, beef or shrimp, and a number of salads. I find the flavors balanced. Not overdone, with the right amount of sour, sweet, salt and a tiny bit of heat. Where I find that some Thai can be heavy on the fish sauce for most American palates, this place seems to serve more delicate flavors.
If you're looking for a little hole-in-the-wall, unusual place, especially for lunch, I suggest giving Reathrey Sekong a try. I actually didn't even know the name until I looked it up here. We always just refer to it as the Cambodian Restaurant - not like there are a ton of them in Phoenix. I'm happy say that we have become regulars and try to visit every few weeks.
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