I have just had the loveliest time at Cambodia's Kitchen in the CBD. I went in to have a chat to brother and sister team, Ivanra and Linna about how things have been going since they opened in May and why they saw a need for Cambodian food in the city. Ivanra told me that he reckons the noodle soup Linna makes is in the top five noodle soups in Melbourne and he says he should know, because he loves eating. He is also a co-owner of a couple of the Shujinko Ramen shops, so Iam pretty sure he knows a thing or two about noodle soup. Once I had spoken to them, Linna went out into the kitchen and made me the most popular thing on the menu, Cambodian marinated fried pork with rice. It comes served with pork broth on the side, the same broth they use in the noodle soup. Ivanra was not joking. This is hands down the most incredible soup I have ever tasted. It is a clear broth but has such a complex savoury flavour that I had one of those, where-have-you-been-all-my-life moments. About a soup. I already know I will not be able to stop thinking about it. The dish, itself was delicious with an incredible sweet, sour, salty sauce that Ivanra and Linna's mother makes. Ivan said that they want to make food that is quick, cheap and tasty. And sure, they have achieved that, but I just don't think tasty is the half of it. This is delicious food that is an incredible discovery for those of us who don't know a lot about Cambodian food and I am sure it must also be a taste of home for Cambodian diners. I don't really know why you are still here reading this and not already out the door on your way to Cambodia's Kitchen right now. No excuses, they are open from 11am until 11pm every day. You're welcome. You can also listen to the chat on your way there on Spotify.
Hi Ivan and Linna. I have read a few stories about Cambodia's Kitchen already and I am so interested in hearing your story for myself. Can we start from the beginning? Did you grow up in Cambodia?
Yes. We grew up in Cambodia, in Pnomh Penh and my sister always loved to cook. She always joined mum preparing dinner at home. We moved to Australia in 2008 and so we have been here for about 14 years.
Were you always working in hospitality?
No. I jumped into hospitality three years ago. I joined my friends to own ramen shops, Japanese cuisine. Then I love street food and I come to the city all the time and I wondered why there was no Cambodian food in the city. At home, Linna is always cooking and preparing food for her husband and food for the family and sometimes we have a party at home and invite all our friends and everyone admires her dishes and her food. I kept thinking about how there was no Cambodian food in the city. There is a Cambodian place in Windsor and some others in outer suburbs, but none in the city so I thought we should be the first ones and I am very confident about her cooking. That's where we started.
But it is quite different; cooking at home for your family is quite different to cooking in a restaurant.
Yes, that is the hard part. We had to work really hard because it is as you say, cooking at home and cooking in a restaurant with strong fire is quite different. We opened and we did a lot of tasting and Linna tried a lot of ingredients and decided to import some ingredients from Cambodia as well, like dried shrimp and dried squid.
And what about quantity as well? I like cooking at home but I would not be able to cook for big numbers and know the timing of getting the food ready and thinking each day about how many people will come and how much to prepare. Has that been easy or hard?
Very hard.
Linna: The first month was very hard.
Ivan: She lost a lot of weight because of the stress. The first month was very hard because we tried to adjust the flavours and work things out, but we worked hard and worked through it and now it is ok.
And how is it working as a brother and sister team?
She is mainly the head chef in the kitchen and I organise front of house so it is quite easy for me.
What is different about Cambodian food to perhaps Vietnamese food?
Our food is very similar to Thai and Vietnamese and Chinese, but we cook things differently and have some different ingredients. Vietnamese have pho, the noodle soup, which is beef broth. But in Cambodia we use pork bone and so it is pork broth. It looks similar, but it is different.
Does it have noodles as well?
Yes, it is a noodle soup. We want to focus on Cambodian street food, like noodle soup and some rice dishes.
Can you tell me about the menu? Oh, nice photos!
Yes, we do them ourselves. Let's start with the noodle soups. We specialise in noodle soups. We have our signature noodle soup which is pork broth withsliced pork, minced pork, pork liver, pork heart, homemade pork loaf, homemade beef ball, homemade fish ball and homemade fish cake. In Cambodia they sell this on the street in the mornings, lunchtime, dinner, supper.
What is pork loaf?
Pork mince made into a loaf. It is all home-made.
Are your wontons different to Chinese wontons?
They are similar; pork and prawn and all handmade.
If we move to the rice, we have pork and chicken. They have the same marinade. The fried pork is the most popular dish. We have this on the street in Cambodia. And they have the broth on the side. It is the same as the noodle soup. We also have the traditional Amok dish which is a fish curry with banana leaf.
What are rice drop noodles?
They are called lort cha in Cambodia, they are short noodles we use in stir fry.
Yum. I have actually been to Cambodia, and I had Amok fish. I did a cooking class, but it was quite a few years ago and I can't quite remember what we made but I know that I loved it. Do you get mainly Cambodian diners?
No, it is surprising, we have had a lot of support from the locals. They seem to be enjoying the authentic taste.
And when are you open?
Seven days from 11am until 11 oclock.
Linna doesn't have to cook every day, does she?
She works every day but for eight hours and she finishes at 7pm. She prepares all the food and then the staff cook it.
I feel like the noodle soup tastes like home, like Cambodia. I said before, I love eating street food. I eat noodle soup everywhere in the CBD and I would rate our noodle soup in the top five. ~ Ivanra Hun
And what are some lessons you have learned from running your own hospitality venue?
Three years ago when I jumped into hospitality with my friends at the ramen place, it is a franchise, so it is easier. They have things already set up. But when it came to this one, we had to do everything ourselves from scratch. The most difficult thing was training the staff to do what Linna does. She can't do everything herself and so we had to train the staff to do the same quality as her. That is the most difficult thing.
How do you train them? I think that is challenging for any chef who has themselves trained to be a chef. Do you do it the same way your mother showed you?
No. As you said, the home cooked and the commercial is quite different. When we hired staff, we wantedpeople who had experience in the kitchen. It was difficult at the start and that is why she has been working every day to make sure that everything is right. The first couple of months were really hard but now they know.
Wow. Well done. Are you enjoying it? Are you at a point where you can enjoy it?
Linna: I love cooking, so I am enjoying it.
What is your favourite dish?
Linna: I like the fried pork.
Ivan: For me, I like the signature dish, the noodle soup. I feel like the noodle soup tastes like home, like Cambodia. I said before, I love eating street food. I eat noodle soup everywhere in the CBD and I would rate our noodle soup in the top five. Honestly. I have worked with ramen and so on and I rate our soup in the top five. If someone likes noodles, I would recommend they come and try it. I am confident they will enjoy it.
Do you think you will keep this menu or will you change it?
The kitchen is stable now so we are working on some new additions. Like the Amok was only introduced three or four weeks ago. Now Linna has time so she can keep updating the menu. Of course we will keep what we have now but we will keep bringing new dishes as well.
Congratulations. You have done really well to open something mew after lockdowns and to find staff and so on.
The first couple of months were really difficult but when people come and try and like the food and bring other food and we have had a lot of things written about us on social media which is great. It is really important to have those good reviews.
It's beautiful in here as well; the dcor obviously represents being out in the street in Cambodia. I love it. Is there anything else you would like to add?
I'd like to say thank you to the local people who have supported us so well and for someone who hasn't tried Cambodian food, come and try it. I am confident you will love it.
175 Russell Street, Melbourne