Seven days a week, 350 days a year, the curtain invariably rises on the small, contemporary dining room of Le Petit Cambodge (anthracite floor and walls, a cluster of naked light bulbs, an open kitchen), where the protocol remains unchanged: scribble down your order on a small piece of paper, then gobble up delicious southeast Asian dishes in a joyful racket. The night we went: explosively flavorful bun bo xao overflowing with mint, cilantro, pickled carrots, crisp soy beans, thin slices of beef with onions and peanuts – with or without crispy fried springrolls; silky natin – ground pork and shrimp in a satay-coconut milk sauce; summer rolls that measure a good 20 centimeters long, filled with lettuce, mint and nuoc-mam sauce; before a hot tapioca banana velouté for dessert. // J.G.
FEELING THIRSTY? Delicious homemade mint-ginger lemonade (€5), comforting jasmine tea (€4.50) or classic Asian beers (Tsingtao, Beerlao and Singha, €5 for 330 ml).
PRICE: Appetizers €3 to €9.50, mains €11-16, desserts €4-6.
