Organization
Simply Khmer
Simply Khmer is a family-owned Cambodian restaurant on Lincoln Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a second location in Chelmsford.[1][2] It is run by Sambath (Sam) Eang Lee, the owner and head chef, and Denise Ban, who founded it to share the food they grew up eating.[1][3] Its signature soup is nom banh chok, rice vermicelli in a turmeric-tinted broth of lemongrass, kaffir lime, fermented fish and garlic.[4]
History
Lee and Ban had earlier run a downtown Lowell restaurant called Angkor Kingdom.[4] Simply Khmer opened in Lowell in 2007, and Lee and Ban took over its Lincoln Street site near the Spaghettiville Bridge in 2008.[1][3][4] In 2011 Andrew Zimmern filmed there for his television program Bizarre Foods, bringing the restaurant national attention.[4] In 2013, working with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, it gave two meals a day for six months to families who lost their homes in a residential fire in Lowell.[3]
The restaurant came through competition, the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Before the pandemic, dining in made up 75 percent of its business. When dine-in service stopped, it relied on takeout, added a patio with picnic tables and plants, and Ban took out several loans.[4] Xavier Eang Lee returned to the family business in 2019. He built its online ordering system and its Instagram presence, and later became manager and chef.[4][1] During the shutdown the family renovated and expanded the dining room, replacing linoleum with wood floors and hanging large paintings of Cambodian life.[1]
In March 2022 Padma Lakshmi filmed at Simply Khmer for her Hulu series Taste the Nation, in the episode "On the Tip of My Kreung." She cooked amok trey in the kitchen with the owners, and State Representative Vanna Howard, the first Khmer woman in the Massachusetts Legislature, joined the family-style meal that closes the segment.[1] In February 2024 the restaurant won first prize in the Lowell Winterfest Soup Contest.[3] Community Teamwork's Entrepreneurship Center supported the opening of a second location, Simply Khmer Noodle House and Bar in Chelmsford, and guided Ban through a Small Business Administration microloan.[3]
Food
Amok trey, also called sa'muth, is one of the top sellers: boneless tilapia with coconut milk, lemongrass, shallots, kaffir lime, broccoli leaves and kreung, steamed in a banana-leaf bowl.[1][3] The restaurant's kreung, the herb paste behind many Cambodian dishes, is a blend of galangal, lemongrass, garlic, fingerroot and fresh turmeric.[1] The Lowell menu also has mee ka thang.[3] In Chelmsford the menu centers on noodles, including kuy tiew bowls that diners build themselves, and the classic Khmer dishes are served at both locations.[3]
A deli inside a Cambodian boutique-style store prepares seasonal products such as pickled baby mangoes and garlic mustard. The boutique sells sarongs, Cambodian history books and cookbooks, fish sauce, garlic sauce, hot-wing sauce and Simply Khmer goods, part of a line of house products meant to bring Khmer flavors home.[1][2]
Community
The Lowell dining room seats 50, with Cambodian music playing. It serves Khmer diners and newcomers alike, with an English-language menu and staff who explain the dishes.[1][4] The restaurant supports young Khmer Americans and local groups including the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, AgeSpan and Girls Incorporated of Lowell.[3]
Visiting
The Chelmsford location is at 7 Summer Street; its phone number is (978) 244-1228.[2][5]
See also
Sources
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Lowell Sun, Simply Khmer brings Cambodian food, culture to "Taste the Nation" (May 2023)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Simply Khmer, website
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Community Teamwork, Simply Khmer success story (June 2024)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 The Boston Globe, At a Cambodian restaurant in Lowell, perseverance is the main ingredient (August 2020)
- ↑ Simply Khmer, restaurant home page