Organization
I Heart Cambodia Restaurant
I Heart Cambodia is a Cambodian restaurant on South 7th Street in the Cambodia Town neighborhood of South Philadelphia. It opened in early 2015.[1][2] Its large Khmer menu of noodle soups, salads, whole fish and shared plates is served at communal tables.[3][2] The restaurant says its dishes draw on centuries-old recipes and Cambodia's street food, made with fresh local ingredients and traditional spices.[4]
History
I Heart Cambodia opened as a 50-seat restaurant where diners bring their own wine or beer. In 2018 its owner was Wood Kaeng, and Alice Tang was its manager.[1] In 2021 WHYY named Tang as the owner. She had moved to Philadelphia about five years earlier to open the restaurant with her aunt and uncle.[5] By 2021 the restaurant had changed owners and been renovated, and it had been a favorite for Cambodian food since about 2016.[6] It is one of more than 62 immigrant- and refugee-owned businesses south of Snyder Avenue, and one of the newer restaurants in Cambodia Town.[5][2]
Food
Tang has said that everything is made fresh, with nothing pre-made or frozen, and that the broth is started about three hours ahead.[5] The soups include Phnom Penh rice noodle soup, made from pork bones and topped with fried garlic, pork and mixed seafood; rice noodle soup with pork; chicken rice noodle soup with neem tree buds; and a bone soup.[1][3][7] Somlor kor kou is a stew of pork ribs slow-cooked with papaya, eggplant and sweet pumpkin in a broth thickened with roasted rice.[1]
The green papaya salad comes with tomato and marinated baby crab in a sweet and tangy fish sauce.[3] The kitchen serves two versions of the prahok platter, spelled brahok on the menu, with raw vegetables for dipping. Brahok ktis is made with pork, chili paste, lemongrass and coconut milk, and brahok krorsang is colored green with the pulp of krasang fruit.[1][6]
The whole fish are two-pound tilapia (about 900 grams), scored and fried until the skin is crisp. One is served in a ginger sauce of fermented beans, ginger and tamarind, and another comes with tamarind dip, lettuce leaves and bitter flowers. Trey chhian chhoun is tilapia with sweet and sour and black bean sauces.[1][2] Other dishes include beef lok lak of flank steak marinated in fish sauce and soy, stir-fried lemongrass beef with galangal, kaffir lime and holy basil, and a chicken curry in coconut broth with kapit, fermented shrimp paste.[1] There are also summer rolls with jumbo shrimp and peanut sauce, spring rolls filled with cabbage and taro, fried rice with sweet soy and sesame, salty fish fried rice, chha kroeung, and fried quail served with lime juice and pepper.[3][1][7]
In 2022, morning drinks included French-press coffee, avocado and durian shakes, and egg sodas.[3][8][6]
Press
The Inquirer critic Craig LaBan reviewed I Heart Cambodia in May 2018 and called it "a worthy destination in the heart of Cambodia Town."[1] The Infatuation reviewed it in 2022 and included it in its guide to the best Cambodian restaurants in Philadelphia and in its Philly Papaya Salad Power Rankings.[3][8] Philadelphia Magazine included it in its 2021 guide to Cambodian food in the city, and WHYY featured Tang in a 2021 story on Southeast Asian business owners on 7th Street.[6][5]
Visiting
The restaurant is at 2207-2209 South 7th Street.[3] The dining tables have large lazy Susans for sharing.[8][7] Takeout, delivery and pickup are offered.[4][8]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 The Philadelphia Inquirer, Craig LaBan, A worthy destination in the heart of Cambodia Town (May 2018)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Billy Penn at WHYY, Cambodia Town: A vibrant ethnic enclave (May 2026)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 The Infatuation, I Heart Cambodia review (April 2022)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 I Heart Cambodia, official site
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 WHYY, How Southeast Asian entrepreneurs create home on 7th Street (May 2021)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Philadelphia Magazine, Cambodian Food in Philly: The Ultimate Guide (March 2021)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 I Heart Cambodia, restaurant profile on Foodjoyy
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Infatuation, The Best Cambodian Restaurants in Philly (February 2025)