Cautious Cambodian

Chhouk tep is a rare find for Khmer cuisine, long overshadowed by its Asian neighbours. Service is enthusiastic, though we're hoping the heat gets turned up.

SARAH MUSGRAVE, Freelance
CHHOUK TEP
Fair bet

1414 Notre-Dame St W.
(at Versailles St.)
Phone: 514-931-6661
Hours: Weekdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tues. to Sun. 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., to 10 p.m. on weekends; closed Mon.
Licensed: No
Credit cards: MC, Visa
Wheelchair access: Several steps up
Vegetarian friendly: Limited
Price range: Appetizers $2.75 to $3.95; mains $6.95 to $14.95

Dining out midway through last week was almost guaranteed to be a bizarre experience. The lunar eclipse really set the ambiance, with the moon hanging over the streets like it had escaped from a maquette at the Planetarium.
The interior of Chhouk Tep seemed to reflect the strange atmosphere outside. With dim lighting giving the large double room a shadowy quality, and the dark walls barely illuminated by neon green bands around the windows, it felt like the kind of place where one might have an assignation to settle gambling debts.
Not that anything remotely villainous was going on - quite the opposite was true of its earnest restaurateurs, who are attempting to bring Cambodian cooking to Montreal. I've noticed Khmer cuisine in other Quebec towns - in fact, Chhouk Tep is a second location of a branch in Sorel - so I was pleased to see this spot open a couple of months ago, even in its somewhat desolate location.
With its better-known culinary cousins Thailand and Vietnam always stealing the spotlight, we asked our host to point out the real Cambodian preparations on the menu.
He enthusiastically noted about 10 offerings on a list that included a number of pan-Asian dishes (though I noticed that General Tao had changed ranks to Admiral Tao).
To tide us over, we needed something quick, and settled on deep-fried wontons. Dunked in a slightly sour sauce, these crunchy little kerchiefs stuffed with chicken and pork were just the ticket.
We followed up with a couple of soups. The first, chicken, rice and lemon, sounded just right for a winter's night. The colourless broth had a pleasantly sweet twinge, but a floating wedge of lemon was not enough or maybe not the kind of citrus I wanted, and I suspect it's usually made with less innocuous preserved lemon. A Thai noodle soup was jammed full of vermicelli and bits and bobs, and while certainly spicier, there was again a sugary effect that inspired a disappointed sigh.
Angorksak beef featured somewhat unusual sauté partners of thinly sliced tomatoes, onions and shredded lettuce for added freshness. Sopheap shrimp with cauliflower, zucchini and bell peppers also had a just-cooked quality, but it was hard to detect a distinctive flavour. Chicken with lemongrass was more pronounced, but if the sauce fell into a certain sameness; again the culprit was sweetness.
Chhouk Tep uses a rating system for its main courses, from no stars to three stars (only one Thai dish earned this hot status). At least two of our choices were two-star, but as there wasn't a hint of challenge in them, we should perhaps have requested chilies to add some kick. That's not the say the preparations weren't tasty, and there was no question about care for ingredients.

With this rare Cambodian resto still finding its feet, what concerns me is that the kitchen may be playing it safe for a perceived clientele. No offense to the fine community of Sorel, but what flies there won't necessarily captivate Montreal diners. I'm hoping Chhouk Tep steps it up, and well before the next lunar eclipse.
Sarah Musgrave is the author of 2007's Montreal Resto à Go-Go: 200 Cheap and Fun Places to Eat and Drink in Montreal.