Khmer food in Portland

Entrees at Sok Sab Bai food cart in Portland. Photo by Will Koenig

Portland, Ore., has long been known for its food carts and gastronomic zeal. Now several Cambodian-Americans are getting in on the culinary action.



I recently interviewed Saron Khut, who has opened Mekong Bistro in East Portland. He's showcasing Cambodian art and also planning to have a space for Southeast Asian concerts and other events.

Nyno Thol prepares a customer's order. Photo by Will Koenig

Then there's Sok Sab Bai, a food cart run by Nyno Thol. His establishment offers a constantly shifting menu of Cambodian-American dishes that is updated daily on the restaurant's Twitter feed.

Know of any other great Khmer restaurants in Oregon or the Northwest? Tell me in the comments.


View Khmer Restaurants in Portland, Ore. in a larger map

The cover of my upcoming book

This the cover of my new collection of columns. It will soon be available on Amazon and — with a bit more work – on Apple's iBookstore.

Other titles I considered included:

• So I Married a Cambodian

• From the Mekong to the Willamette

• Trans-Pacific

• Mango Madness (well not really, but it's a great song)

The 'beautiful girl' of politics

The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is Oct. 16. If you haven't yet, direct yourself to Oregon Secretary of State's website and do it online now! There's more information at Oregon Votes.

For more on why it's important to get citizenship, vote and why politicians treat active communities "like a beautiful girl," listen to Lowell, Mass., City Councilor Vesna Nuon:

On mushrooms and art

I recently interviewed artist Sakhon Nhek for Khmerican.com. You can find the interview on YouTube, but Ms. Nhek and I had a wide-ranging discussion that was a bit too wide to include in the final version.

Fascinating bits of material often end up in the dustbin for minor reasons. There's a finite amount of space and time, whether it be for a story, photos or video.

In this case, I wanted to rescue and post a few minutes of the artist's explanation of what inspired this particular work of art. For more of her work, visit her site.

'How we can influence the world'

Ritchie Kong's first art show is March 10, 2012. Any other aspiring Cambodian-American artists out there?

Creating "The Golden Voice"

I got to interview Greg Cahill, director of "The Golden Voice" and "Two Shadows" while he was in Phnom Penh. Unfortunately it was via Skype as I'm stuck in Oregon.



Sophea Pel's and Greg Cahill's re-creation of the song "Chaul Chnam Thmey" for "The Golden Voice" is positively dripping with atmosphere and tension. It manages to faithfully follow the song and yet add so much.



I'm really looking forward to seeing these two feature-length films when they are released.

Working blue with a green screen

I interviewed Phanit Duong, aka Memo Jackson, and Chantha Luk, aka C.Luk, the George Carlins of the Cambodian-American world. Funny, funny guys.

A hint to any event organizers in Portland: I would be willing to pay cash money to see Hella Chluy perform at a Cambodian event, if only to watch the audience.

UPDATE: The pair have a project up at Kickstarter.

Tales of the SEA ICS

Thanks Rhummanee, Chan and Stephanie for taking the time to talk to me about the Southeast Asian Intercollegiate Summit!

Khmerican podcast: Episode Zero

The website Khmerican.com is dedicated to exploring and expanding Khmer culture in the United States. As a former resident of Cambodia, a husband of a Cambodian, and the father of a Cambodian-American, I think it's a worthwhile site.

It's an honor to be a part of it.