Organization
Cambodian and Chinese Food
Cambodian and Chinese Food is a small family restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, that serves Cambodian dishes alongside Chinese ones.[1] Its registered name is Cambodian and Chinese Food LLC.[2] A woman chef-owner runs the kitchen, and the staff speak both Cambodian and English.[1] The restaurant is part of Tacoma's Cambodian community, one of the larger Khmer communities in the Pacific Northwest.[1]
History
The restaurant stands in the 72nd Street plaza in Tacoma's South End, which is also home to WinCo Foods and Famous Dave's. In the summer of 2021 the business at this address opened under the name Happy Asian Fast Food, a shaved ice and boba tea shop, while the sign outside already read "Cambodian and Chinese Fast Food."[3] By 2023 it was trading as Cambodian and Chinese Food LLC, a women-owned and Asian-owned business.[2]
Food
Most of the menu is quick-service Chinese food such as chow mein and fried rice. The owners also make Southeast Asian dishes, among them beef lok lak, a lightly seared steak, and banh chao, a crepe similar to the Vietnamese banh xeo.[3] On the menu the crepe appears as the Cambodian yellow crepe with chicken (បាញ់ឆែវ, banh chao). It also lists marinated beef skewers, fried flat noodles with vegetables and meat, deep-fried tilapia with soybean, rice with pork, and lot cha (លតឆា, lot cha) with a sweet and sour dressing.[2]
Other Cambodian dishes include beef and pork stews, deep-fried catfish with tamarind sauce served with mango salad, sweet and sour soup, and salted fish pan-fried with eggs.[1][2] The Chinese side of the menu runs from egg drop, hot and sour and wonton soups to sweet and sour chicken, almond chicken, stir-fried broccoli with beef, and fried dumplings by the plate of 16. A family dinner serves five people.[1][2]