Chez Sovan Cambodian Restaurant
2425 S Bascom Ave
Campbell, CA 95008
408.371.7711
As I discussed in my earlier post about Cambodian food at Phnom Penh in Cleveland, I’m a freak for spicy and exotic stuff. A local buddy of mine suggested that while I was in town I check out the San Jose equivalent to Phnom Penh, Chez Sovan in nearby Campbell.
Cheryl and I finished our day of Project Management 101 drudgery at our Morgan Hill Training center, leaving the cows grazing in the parking lot and headed up the highway to the San Jose/Campbell area. San Jose has a ton of Asian restaurants, particularly Thai and Vietnamese, but Chez Sovan has the distinction of being the only Cambodian in town.
Restaurant entrance
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Dining Room
Dining Room
Here’s a raspberry-flavored sake we ordered. It was disgustingly sweet, but I can see it as a fun thing to order, perhaps for Valentine’s Day.
Nating, which I was first introduced to at Phnom Penh in Cleveland. Crispy rice squares with a pork/tamarind “bolognese” that is spooned on top.
Cheryl’s Tom Yum Gai Soup. An interesting variation on the Thai mainstay.
My spicy Samlaw Machou soup. Similar to the one I had in Cleveland, but with bigger pieces of beef and green beans and with no spinach.
An excellent beef Kroueng stir-fry.
The rice presentation, which I thought was very pretty.
Chicken Laap, a Cambodian rendition of the Laotian/Thai dish. This particular version was VERY heavy on cilantro, which I happened to like, but Cheryl didn’t care for.
Off The Broiler 
That place is very close to my office, I should give them a try for lunch sometime.
Nice…I love Cambodian food as well.
Anyway, I just wanted to clarify that Laap/Larb is actually a Laotian dish, but it’s popularity has spread to Thailand and Cambodia. So the version in the photo above is a Cambodian version of a Laotian dish.
In addition, Tom Yum is actually both Laotian and Thai…it’s a very simple and basic soup in Laotian and Thai cuisines, but was made popular in the West by Thai restaurants.