Cambodian cuisine is similar to its neighbor to the north, Thailand. Ingredients like galangal (a type of ginger), lemongrass, basil, and coconut milk are staples in Cambodian cupboards. Like Thai soups, Cambodian soups often end on a sour note, which is a good thing. For example, the hot and sour soup (chicken or shrimp) and tomato-pineapple sour soup make good palate cleansers.

A safe appetizer is lhord, or Cambodian spring rolls (six for $4.75), which come tightly rolled and filled with minced ground chicken, carrot, taro, jicama, and shallots. The fillings are finely ground together and harmonize well. They are served with a sweet-and-sour glaze. Several salads start with a base of shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, and peanuts ($8 for a small). Choose your proteins (shrimp, chicken, beef, or squid), and liven it up with a citrus lemongrass vinaigrette.

Samlaw korko moin is chicken with green papaya, orange squash, green beans, eggplant, and spinach topped with roasted rice ($8). Orange squash, like butternut, is often used in Cambodian stews and curries. Here the stew was thin and redolent of fish due to the use of prahok, a preserved fish paste used to amplify the flavor of a dish. A little prahok goes a long way, so prepare your nose. Do try the amok, a Cambodian curry, unusual because it is steamed instead of boiled ($8). Chunks of catfish (or chicken) are seasoned with galangal and lemongrass, and then combined with coconut milk, egg, and spinach. The whole thing is steamed in a banana leaf. The steaming results in a loaf firm enough to cut into slices but moist enough to pass as a pudding. Coconut milk makes the dish sweet and custard-like. kuy tiew cha, or fried rice noodles, is a cousin of pad Thai, with flat rice noodles stir fried with bean sprouts and tamarind and topped with peanuts and shredded egg. Paprika gives it a twist. Beef is bite-size and easy to manage with chopsticks.

Bie moin is rice with barbecue chicken and a ginger sauce ($8 for a small, $12 for the large). Thin strips of white meat straddle a generous portion of sticky rice, and slices of tomatoes and cucumbers provide balance. The chicken is somewhat dry, but grilling gives it a healthy glow and smoky flavor.