Someone recommended to me that Sugar Palm had the best fish amok in town; but sadly they’re completely wrong. Sugar Palm’s menu describes itself as Thai-Khmer fusion and the combination of having the word “fusion” on the menu and being on the trendy end of Street 240 should have rung the culinary alarm bell. I shared the fish amok($6) and a random Khmer pork curry ($5), steamed rice and a few Anchors($1.50 per can).
As a positive, the amok has cured my desire for salt for the next month. It was well presented in a carved coconut shell bowl but at $6, you’d hope that it would be a crazy taste sensation as well. It had just started to form the beautiful mousseline consistency that amok should, but it wasn’t quite there by the time it arrived on our table.
The curry wasn’t too bad, but then again, it’s fairly rare that you receive a terminally bad Khmer-style curry anywhere in Phnom Penh. Being served a single, well-formed tablespoon of rice on a large plate annoys me, but the staff were extremely forthcoming in serving more and were generally attentive.
Location: Street 240, near the corner of Street 19.