Phnom Penh

Sadly this place has gone out of business. Wish I had known that before I drove 30 minutes into Gwinnett.

Food’s pretty cheap, not as cheap as Buford, but they have no competition here. Of which, they actually have none. We pulled up during lunch on a weekday and the entire strip mall was empty. The only cars were probably the owners of the shop.
However, the food is prepared well and flavors delicious. We’ll be back.

We went back today to visit their new location and everything continues to be super awesome. Is a bit out of the way and tough to find in the strip mall, but this place is a gem.
Dont miss out!

So whoever’s review said that this place is closed was wrong. It has moved to a new location in Lilburn, and we ate there last week… AND IT WAS AWESOME!
BASIC STUFF: A few basic things about this place… a Khmer (Cambodian) restaurant is very rare in the Southeast US, so it is really special to have one here in ATL. Secondly, the people who run this restaurant are incredibly friendly and hospitable, which is similar to the people I encountered in Cambodia. Finally, this place is an INCREDIBLE BARGAIN for authentic asian food with fresh ingredients. In fact, we ordered 2 white meat chicken dishes and a filet of tilapia dish, and it came to less than $ 30 before tip!!! Each entrée portion was larger than me or my date could have finished together. This is not a fancy place, but it is one-​of-​a-​kind.
DECOR: Not too fancy, but there is an authentic oil painting of the Cambodian countryside, A Painting of Angkor Wat, A photo of Ta Prohm and a sculpture of a Cambodian Apsara, as wall as one of the Buddha.
THE FOOD: In a word: EXCELLENT. We had the following…
1. Lemongrass chicken: this was very authentic and consisted of sauteed chicken breast with onions and vegetables. Spices also included ginger and garlic. Very tasty.
2. Red Curry Chicken: Much more complex than Thai Red curry I have experienced. Included green peppers and cauliflower as well as broccoli. Reminiscent of South Indian curry and had a component of coconut in the curry. Also very tasty
3. Fish Amok. This is a classic preparation of Mekong fish (here they use Tilapia, completely boneless filets). The serving size was 1 huge and another medium sized filet. The spices were the typical preparation, not overly sweet. The filets were crispy yet tender and prepared perfectly. Very succulent.
DRINKS: None yet, but they indicated that they would start carrying beers and wines next month. For now, they said you can bring your own, with no corking fee!
Like one of the other reviews said, this place is a real gem, and I will definitely make the trip to Lilburn to dine there again. They have a very extensive menu of Khmer food, and I would love to sample more of what I consider to be the best cuisine of Indochina.

Wow. .. this place is wonderful. No hyperbole intended. .. really, THIS PLACE IS WONDERFUL.
(Oh, and by the way. .. they have completed the move to Lilburn and are up and operating, full bore at the 4800 Lawrenceville Highway location).
If you like subtle, tantalizing flavors. .. if you like food that is perfectly cooked (fish to moist perfection, chicken without a thought of the dryness typically seen in Asian restaurants). .. if you like Thai but are looking for something more refined. .. . if you want something really special, then you must give Phnom Penh a try.
This was our first visit, but we can tell that the cook really knows much more than just her recipes, she has perfected her technique. We had Banche Cheve (a crêpe-​like affair containing ground chicken, shrimp, and bean sprouts, which you dress up with Thai basil and cucumbers, then load the whole thing into a lettuce leaf, which you then dip into a sauce), Fish Amok (lightly fried fish in a type of Khmer curry sauce, from Cambodia), and Chicken Lemongrass (a chicken sauté, finished with subtle lemongrass-​flavored sauce).
In each case, perfection. Which leads us to believe that just about anything on the menu is likely to come out similarly (of course, we plan to test this hypothesis in the coming months!).
Ambiance is «neighborhood restaurant» nice — — you might not go here to celebrate a promotion, but it’s perfect when you just want to go out and have some great food without a lot of fuss.
You should come here just for the food, but you will be getting one of the best deals in town too. .. it’s way, way up on the value meter.
So, give Phnom Penh a try. .. you won’t be sorry.

First impressions of «Cambodian» food — sort of a cross between Thai and Vietnamese. The spices and flavoring is very Thai. The rice noodles and the spring rolls are very Vietnamese. Geographically speaking, it makes sense, right?
This is a family run spot in every sense of the word — the ma or pa will come out and personally recommend dishes for you. Been here twice, and each time, one or the other did so. Also, their kids work here on weekends and are extremely polite (5-​stars for parenting skills!).
Now back to the food… Upon seeing the spring rolls, your eyes will pop — these are The John Holmes of Spring Rolls! (Okay, I better stop, as this is beginning to sound VERY weird…;)
The entrees: The ground pork in cabbage seems to be a staple of Cambodian food. Was good but salty… Liked the rice noodles with curried chicken broth/​sauce much better. Each time I went, they recommended Fish Amok, so that’s what it’ll be next time…
Don’t be fooled from the looks of the place from the outside. Its a run down parking lot with a sign that says «Beef Stix,» but inside, it is nice enough to qualify as a sit-​down joint. Lots of natural sunlight, covered tables with decent wares… The view of industrial Tucker isn’t exactly great sightseeing, but you came for the food, right?.
Definitely worth a stop, if you happen to be near Stone Mountain. Great, personalized service, and food made with good intentions.

i don’t think i can hit up a place and review it on Unilocal without it being reviewed by THE addy c. first. seriously, this woman is EVERYWHERE! once i think i found a cool new spot, she’s reviewed it already. and not only that, she’s reviewed it a year or two ago. wow, mad props!
me and my friends were joking around saying that this is the best cambodian place we’ve ever been to. the joke being we had never heard of any cambodian restaurant other than this one.
the staff is super friendly. we pretty much got the life story of the owner while we were there. not in an annoying, «let us finish our meal» way, but the «wow, i can’t believe how nice you are» way.
i ordered the fish amok because i heard how amazing it was. it’s deep fried tilapia with curry sauce on it. it was delicious. i think i might have expected a lot more cause of how hyped up the place was, but i couldn’t complain about the fish and the curry i thought was tasty. i had never had fish and curry in the same dish before so this was a nice surprise.
other people ordered the beef sticks, which my friend describes as «the ish», or the noodle soup (which was pretty much like phở but to be honest, i’d much rather have phở), and the beef salad (which i didn’t think was all that great and would probably not recommend anyone ordering). all were served with a fried spring roll with smelly fish sauce (as if there was any other kind).
i think the next time i go i think i’ll order either the beef sticks or the spicy cat fish. i do wish they had a lunch menu though. it’s a better place to go for dinner than spending over 10 bucks to eat for lunch.

OMG guys, I think I’d found the crown jewel of Atlanta. I went here yesterday with my family and we definitely had a great time. Their food is delicious!!! It doesn’t get any better than this.

Maybe I’m picky, but it’s not as good as it gets for me. It’s my first Cambodian place, and I loved the Fish Amok, but I don’t enjoy the soups (I got the one with the pineapple twice) bc they’re really oily/​greasy and I think the eggrolls are fried too much, and I dislike the eggroll sauce.
The fish amok is delish, and the chick/​combo/​beef stix are good, but I’m not sure if I enjoy it more than any other satay type dish I’ve had. I dunno, good food, and I’ve been about 3 times or so, but it’s never the place that I run to first… just the place I go when I’m tired of going to my fave places.
I also always leave here and go somewhere else for dessert, so I guess that’s why it’s also not on the top of my go-​to list. it’s solid food, and sometimes, not so solid.

Another of Tucker’s Finest (Restaurants)! I happened upon this little family owned and operated Cambodian Restaurant one evening while searching for some variety for my (Asian) wife… She loved the food and insisted on going there for dinner after tasting the take out!
The food is outstanding; a sort of Asian Fusion meets Thai… Noodle Soup is good, Beef Stix are my personal favorite. I highly recommend this quaint little piece of Asian heaven. They don’t serve any Beer, Wine or Adult Beverages, but you can bring your own bottle of your fav beverage.

Went back. Got the fish amok, some noodle that is similar to pad thai, and spicy basil w/​chicken. Food was all fresh and good, but holy cow was the service not so good. I think that one of the managers/​family members was working as waiter, even though he has no waiter skills.
There were a few tables filled, maybe 15 – 16 people in all. He was bringing out plates of food to various tables every few minutes. No table was getting all their food at once. He seemed pretty clueless about checking with us to see if we needed anything (i.e. silverware and water for our nearly 4 yo).
I don’t think he was deliberately bad, rather just clueless on how to wait on tables and take care of the customers. The food is actually good, fresh, but the service and slowness left much to be desired.
Incidentally, from reading online, the fish amok is not at all like the real traditional version (fish steamed in coconut milk in banana leaves), but it’s still tasty nonetheless.

First of all, if you try to go there, be aware that the big sign in front still says Beef Stix (the former name of the restaurant), but the building itself has the current name.
A friend and I were craving some Cambodian food (we had traveled there separately this past fall), and since Phnom Penh is the only option in town, we decided to check it out.
The menu ranges from authentic Cambodian dishes (like soups and amok, a fish/​coconut dish), but also includes more typical Southeast Asian fare.
We shared some spring rolls to start, which were very large and mildly flavored. I ordered the first soup on the menu with tilapia. The bowl they brought out was big enough to feed a family, and try as I did to finish it, I couldn’t quite eat it all (to be fair, most of what I left was liquid). My friend enjoyed the Lok Lak, another traditional beef dish.
The services was so-​so (polite, but inconsistent), but that’s pretty typical of a lot of «authentic» Asian restaurants. If you want to explore more SE Asian food beyond the ubiquitous Thai, Phnom Penh is the place to do it.

Phenom Penh is definitely the diamond in the rough for Cambodian food. While you might pass it by, look for the elephant Beefstix sign and the EAT A CUP OF NOODLES out front. It’s a small place with only a few seats limited, but it’s worth stopping by. The man running it is there every day and is very friendly.
First off, the rice here is so soft and large you’ll be satisfied with that alone. Don’t stop there though; there are some really good and spicy menu items. My favorite that I’ve eaten nearly every time I go there would be the Coconut Fish (Fish Amok). They add this amazing sauce on it that’ll make your mouth water. It’s just enough spice that you can feel the slight burn but enjoy it at the same time. For the price you pay, you won’t believe you’ve just eaten this meal. It feels like something you’d be served at a 4 or 5 star restaurant. There once was a large group of people who came here on either a business meeting or small party and they were all very surprised nobody had heard of this place considering how great the food was. The owner is very humble but he should definitely expand this restaurant and get the word out more, possibly making outdoor tables to cater large groups.
I can’t pull myself away from Fish Amok here, its to die for! The Black Peppered Steak is also an item I had not tried before but loved every bite of. Orange Steak if you’re into the sweet stuff. For a heavy broth soup or a really good hangover cure, the Phnom Penh Noodle Soup hits the spot every time. On slower nights the chef and owner will sometimes come out and talk with us. Once this place hit the local papers theyve seen much larger crowds which is indeed good for the place so this means the word is getting out about the amazing food here.

The more I eat different styles of Asian food, the more I think I need to eat more and more of it. Not because I’m on a mission to become Mr. Fatty, mind you (not any more than normal anyway), but because I want to be able to recognize the intricacies of difference between them.
I’ll admit, to me there is a very fine line between Thai, Malaysian and Cambodian food. If I were blind folded and served a bite from each style, I wonder if I could tell the difference. Probably not.
I begin this review with that because after having lunch at Phnom Penh with Albert B and Lisa L, I swear what I ate could have been Thai food. I ordered a curry dish with chicken (forget the specific name and they don’t have a website with a menu to verify). It tasted much like a Thai Massaman curry. Nice, rich flavors, sweet coconut milk taste, with onions and bell peppers. But in this case, there wasn’t much if any heat from chilies. I thought the menu said there were also peanuts in the dish, but none were found (maybe they ran out?).
Perhaps there isn’t really much of a difference between these regional cuisines. After all, those countries are relatively close together. Or it could be that I am just ordering the wrong things to really get an impression of what may be unique between them. The food was good, but I guess I was expecting something a bit more exotic and different, like «Ooooh, wow! Cambodian food! How very ethnic of me.» Haha.
The service was prompt, but a little too casual and hap-​hazard. The delivery of the dishes was sporadic (I had my soup appetizer for approximately one minute before my entrée was dropped in front of me). But let’s be real, Todd, this ain’t The French Laundry!
Solid three stars.

Plate cleaning tastiness. If only I had a biscuit to sop up the plate. Wait, that would be kinda gross with Asian food; but I don’t know how else to describe it.
So my wife and I had been here in it’s previous incarnation of Beef Stix, which was a decent eatery. As Phnom Penh the décor has been improved upon: they added carpet, painted and changed out the furniture. Not overly impressive, but they are trying.
Our elite Unilocaler friend Todd P. joined us for lunch, despite the stormy weather. We had done a little review perusing before we ordered, so we mixed it up a bit with the order. Being that we were the only customers, we were amused that the service was confusing. The girl who got our drinks listened patiently as Todd ordered his lunch and then another girl approached to take our order, and he had to re-​order with a little chuckle. Todd got the curry, I gladly ordered the Amok fish and my wife ordered the combo meat stix as her low carb option.
Since we had read that service was a little slow, we chatted a good while as we waited for our starters. So out came a spring roll and then within a few seconds came one entrée, then a soup, another entrée, the second spring roll, and finally the last two entrees. No timing here, I believe it was brought out as it was ready. I did ask for just red bell peppers on my fish and received it with green peppers mixed in. She said, «I told him, but that is what he made,» as she set it down. Oh well, I picked them out.
Ok, now for the food. My spring roll was hot out of the fryer and appropriately tasty. The Amok Fried Fish was very good, and a generously sized Tilapia fillet. I would describe it as a saucy sweet and spicy sauce on top of a well seasoned breaded fish fillet. I would definitely order it again. It was kinda the evil good, like you keep eating even though you feel like your button is going to pop on your pants. Everyone had a tasting of each others dish and we were all satisfied that they were good. You will have to read Todd P.‘s review for his take on the curry.
Oh yeah, I did have sweet tea, and it was very good. I’m not sure, but I think it was oolong. Strong and just the right amount of sugar.
All in all I would recommend lunch there. I will have to go back and try some of the other dishes. The basil or ginger dishes looked like they would be tasty. I will be interested in seeing what they have to offer for dinner.
Cheers to Tucker for having another decent Asian restaurant. I live around here so that makes me happy. Four stars for what and where it is!

On the second visit, I brought a big group with family (thinking I would help them out with the emptiness of their place) and although the chicken sticks were still AMAzING (skipped the beef), it was weird because sometimes they give you egg rolls and sometimes they don’t (it isn’t on the menu that they come with), and last time the sticks came with papaya salad, and this time it didn’t. Thought the soup wasn’t that great, even though it is massive.
Thought maybe the host would be glad to see us again, but he was kindof indifferent. Still, good food, very cheap.
Also, BYOB/​W No liquor license!~

I would’ve never thought to do a Unilocal search for Cambodian food except for my friend who’s planning a mission trip to Cambodia so I got curious. A few of us decided to check it out last wknd. A lot of the menu items looked Thai to us — I asked the server and he said it is, except Cambodian food is not spicy. However they said they’d gladly make the food spicy if that’s what we wanted — nice service :)
Samlor Ma Chou — our server highly recommended this soup, said it was popular and pointed out the two other tables who also ordered it. We ordered it with chicken — the soup also had pineapple (the canned kind), supposedly tomatoes (but we didn’t see any), bean sprouts, celery, chayote, tamarind, green onions, & Khymer herbs. Broth had some lime juice, too. While the others in my party liked it, I thought it was a little bland. Cost $ 8.50.
Plear Sach Kor — our server actually recommended another salad but it sounded very similar to the Thai beef salad, and this one had more interesting combination of ingredients. Unfortunately I can’t remember all of them but this one had beef slices, cabbage, carrots, & other veggies with some kind of lime dressing. I don’t think anyone in our party really liked this one. Cost $ 8.75.
Chicken Stick — tasted exactly like Thai chicken satay but it had a lot more meat (not skimpy — yay!). Same peanut sauce, too. Yummy. Cost $ 6.95.
Fried Fish Amok — the classic Cambodian dish and most favorite among our group. It’s a deep-​fried tilapia with bell peppers, onions, & the Amok milk sauce. Honestly it tasted like candy to me. Nice crunchy texture. If you try this place, this is the dish to get. Cost $ 9.25.
Our food also came with fried egg rolls with a peanut sauce. Overall, food was ok for me but my friends seemed to really like it a lot. My expectations were probably too high. Prices were very reasonable though. Service was friendly but not so attentive with the water refills. Dinner plates were oddly just coffee saucers … then again, someone noted that we wouldn’t have had room at our table for full dinner-​size plates. Also, food apparently has a lot of MSG — two folks at our table experienced its side effects.
Other special notes — while the restaurant is called «Phnom Penh», the street sign says «Beef Stix Southeast Asian Fast Food.» It’s a standalone restaurant (not in a shopping plaza), and it’s definitely not fast food. Oh — and they encourage BYOB & BYOW :) Worth a visit if you’ve never had Cambodian food!

This little green hut sort of building is really easy to miss! I was so confused because there was a sign that read «Beef Stix» but no sign indicating the name of the restaurant in front.
Okay so then I had to order the Combo Stix because of the sign that read «Beef Stix» out front, and it turned out to be really really good! Personally I liked the beef better than the chicken. the chicken was bit dried. The waiter was really nice; he took the beef off the stick for me when he saw that I was having trouble doign it myself haha.
My friends ordered a noodle dish that reminds me of Pad Thai, but less sweet, and green curry. Both the dishes were delish!
But the most amazing of them all are the ANGEL WINGS! It looks like chicken wings but stuffed with a mixture of meat and some other ingredients… we were all wondering how they stuffed the meat inside!
I will definitely go back there again!

I just went to this restaurant yesterday for the first time.
I enjoyed most of their food and I’ll come back again. Also, I’ll give them another chance for the stuffed wings.
Here is my evaluation:
Ambience:
The place is clean and cozy. They had some pictures of Cambodia.
There were lots of parking and the place was easy to find.
This is not a fancy place, but it’s a good casual place to eat.
I’ll give them 4/​5point.
Server:
There were two at that time. My server had good attitude and gave us a suggestion for food; however, he was not attentive most of the time. Maybe he was inexperienced. For example, when I ordered my drink, he did not give me a straw. My brother ordered a hot tea, but he had to wait for a long time to get his tea. I really think that our server forgot about our drinks.
My brother and I had ordered two entrees to share. So, we told our server that we are going to share. Before the entrees come to our table, he already brought 2 small plates of rice to us. The plate was as small as coffee plates. I wish he did not do that. When we go to other Asian restaurants, they normally bring big clean plates for you to put entrée and rice. I really think our server could put our rice in a small soup bowl instead of small plate. It didn’t look good. Or maybe he could put rice in a big soup bowl with two big plates. So, my brother and I could separate into our plate.
Good thing about this guy was he had a good attitude all these time, even we complained that the stuffed chicken is not fully cooked, he just apologized politely without a bad face. I just think he needs an improvement.
So, I’ll give him 3/​5points
Food:
I enjoyed most of our meals. It was my first Cambodian and I would like to try more different things next time I go. Also, the price is very cheap for the portion we had. It was plenty!
However, stuffed chicken was slow and bad.
It was supposed to be an appetizer, but it came to us after our meal was finished. Unfortunately, the chicken looked over cooked and dark. We cut the chicken to see what’s inside. Then we saw the meat wasn’t fully cooked. It was still raw. So, we told our waiter to take it back and give us another one. Then 10, or 15 minutes later, he brought the chicken which we told him we do not want it. They just refried the chicken instead of give us the new one. I really thought they were lack of common sense! The chicken looked darker and harder than before. Do they want us to eat that? They are out of their minds!
Actually my brother and I were so excited to try the stuffed chicken. So, we were a little bit disappointed.
But all other foods were great and I do recommend to people who never tried Cambodian food. Cambodian cuisine is different from Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian. You can tell the difference.
Their food is ⁴⁄₅ point.
My recommendation:
Samlor Ma Chou Soup
Basil Beef
Deep fried Tilapia with a special curry sauce

Great little Cambodian Restuarant not too far outside of the Perimeter in Tucker. It is right around the corner from my house, this could prove to be dangerous.
I had never had Cambodian food before but try to support Tucker businesses as best I can so the girl and I tried it one night last week. We ordered Bahn Cheve, 2 giant crepes filled with ground chicken and sprouts (6 – 7 bucks), the combination plate of beef and chicken sticks (satay is the closest comparision, so perfectly cooked), and Fish Amok (tilapia in a sweet and spicy curry sauce.)
All of the dishes were excellent. The Fish Amok haunts my dreams though. Perfect perfect dish. Amok seems to be the national dish of Cambodia and even though this was my first exposure to it I know every time I eat it again it will be compared to this little Tucker restuarant.
Service was good, restaurant is clean, BYOB currently (doubt they will get a license so likely BYOB forever.) Please come out and support this small ehtnic eatery. Everything is made fresh to order. And very reasonably priced. Our bill was 24 bucks total, that is two appetizers and an entrée.