At one time as many as 10,000 Cambodians lived here…
This is not Phnom Penh. This is the Bronx.
For many Cambodians who fled shortly after the Khmer Rouge took over in 1975, they set up here. Mainly concentrated in the neighborhoods of Fordham, University Heights and Bronx Park East, “Little Cambodia” gets smaller every day.
By the time I went up to check it out, I found only Battambang Market as the only distinctly Cambodian shop selling the pungent fish sauces and spice pastes from the country. Most of the community had long since left for California and Massachusetts and other places that were easier to get by. At one time as many as 10,000 Cambodians lived here, now the number dwindles to the low thousands.
The older woman behind the counter at Battambang told me there were no longer any Cambodian restaurants in the area only a Vietnamese noodle shop. I walked over and dove into a bowl of Bún bò Huế, a spicy lemongrass beef soup, as Drake bumped on the radio.
Episode Intel:
Battambang Mkt.II
229 E Kingsbridge Rd Bronx, NY 10458
Cơm Tấm Ninh Kiều
2641 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY 10468
Reggie Ate: Bún bò Huế, a spicy lemongrass beef soup.
Phnom Penh — Nha Trang
2639 Jerome Ave, Bronx, NY 10468
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