Fresno’s Only Khmer Restaurant Keeps Culture Visible:

By Ronan Vanthy

Southeast Asian culture is everywhere. Thai and Lao restaurants populate avenues throughout the city. But for Cambodians, who make up a significant part of that Diaspora, their visibility is harder to find.

In this small corner restaurant, original Khmer ingredients and flavors could be seen on every menu like Kreung, a lemon grassy sort of seasoning. This is Fresno’s only Khmer Restaurant, where one woman keeps her culture alive through food.

Dishes like Amok, Lok Lak, and the iconic lemon grass beef sticks can be found along with some Chinese dishes as well. This is because the owner spent years cooking for Chinese fast food businesses, and eventually, she wanted something closer to home. 

“Before this, I cooked Chinese fast food,” she said. “Been over there for 18 years. Me and my husband were thinking that we want to open up Cambodian cuisine in Fresno.” 

It hasn’t always been easy, especially since cooking Khmer dishes aren’t known for being easy.  Many essential ingredients are not locally available and must be shipped from across the country, all the way from Washington, D.C.

Despite Fresno being home to one of the largest Southeast Asian communities in the country, recognition are events shared across asian communities

“Cambodian dishes, I don’t really know anything about that,” said Evan Mezcara, president of Fresno State’s Filipino Club.

Another student admitted many cultures are grouped together, so he doesn’t really know anything about them.

“I never really heard about it. All the countries in Asia, they’re all the same to me,” he said. 

These reactions show why visibility and representation matter and why businesses like this restaurant are more than just a place to eat.