Critics’ choice: Adventurous Southeast Asian cooking
Nyum Bai Oakland
Nite Yun’s modest bid to promote Cambodian cuisine is going better than expected, said Mayukh Sen in The New York Times. Several months after Yun launched her first brick-and-mortar venture in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood, Bon Appetit named the tiny operation one of America’s best new restaurants. And yet the 36-year-old child of refugees is cooking mostly from memories of her mother’s recipes and the dishes that she sampled when she first returned to her native country at 25. The short menu at Nyum Bai is “staunchly Cambodian,” hewing closely to Khmer cooking traditions that were nearly erased by genocide. Yun’s ngoum banana salad is “a tangy jumble of banana blossoms, cabbage, basil, bell peppers, crushed peanuts, mint, and cucumbers.”
Her kuy teav Phnom Penh is an earthy pork noodle soup “just like her mother’s.” Eat on and you’ll discover that prahok, a fermented fish paste, and kroeung, a paste made from lemongrass, garlic, and makrut lime leaves, tie many Cambodian dishes together, said Janelle Bitker in the East Bay Express. But you won’t find other Southeast Asian offerings to distract you. “That’s what makes Nyum Bai a game changer.” 3340 E. 12th St., (510) 500-3338
Hai Hai
Minneapolis
“The quickest way to experience the best that Southeast Asia has to offer is to buy a plane ticket to the Twin Cities,” said Khushbu Shah in Thrillist.com. At Hai Hai, chefs Christina Nguyen and Birk Grudem have given a former strip club a refreshing makeover, transforming the space into “a high-energy experience for both the eyes and the tongue.” I may never stop dreaming about their water fern cakes ( bánh bèo), a Vietnamese dish of tapioca and steamed rice covered in crunchy shallots, mung beans, and nuoc cham. Just as addictive is the bánh xèo, a crisp crêpe of rice flour, turmeric, and coconut milk that the chefs fill with pork belly, scallions, and bean sprouts. Though Nguyen is a child of Vietnamese immigrants, she and Grudem also offer impressive takes on Cambodian and Balinese staples. And to wash your meal down, accept the server’s offer of a boozy slushie—
“one of the greatest joys of adulthood.” 2121 University Ave. NE, (612) 223-8640
Kopitiam
New York City
When the latest wave of gentrification has you down, “this is where you go to fall in love with Manhattan again,” said Ryan Sutton in Eater.com. Named after a class of cafés that can be found throughout Malaysia, Kopitiam is a casual eatery in Chinatown that’ll let you linger over rosescented milk or a ghee-laced coffee. This is also the place to go for a $5 sandwich slathered with pandan- coconut jam, or a “soul-warming” pan mee soup, overflowing with hand-torn noodles, ground pork, and fried anchovies. There isn’t a misfire on chef Kyo Pang’s menu, but there are standouts, including a fish quiche, wrapped in banana leaves, and nasi lemak, which is Malaysia’s national dish and a “gorgeously savory” concoction of peanuts, anchovies, and chili paste given a “fiery, funky backbone” by fermented shrimp. Best of all, “a full meal here can cost less than a typical order of avocado toast.” 151 E. Broadway, (646) 894-7081