There’s a new player in town in the restaurant game. However this is one serious player. For them, it’s not a game, it’s a serious business endeavour. Chanrey Tree, owned by Mister Kann (from the Sokkhak Spa) has taken a run down property and built a brand new Khmer House Restaurant with devastatingly wonderful results.
We went there on their second night to sample the foods. There are still some really minor teething problems, but we’ll let them pass for now. So, the location. It’s on the side of the river. If you go to the Old Market and turn left (towards Angkor) you pass the Angkor Trade Centre, then the Pagoda. Then there are about 4 wood shops selling rattan furniture, and immediately after them is the Chanrey Tree. It’s about a 5 minute walk from the main city centre.
We had booked, but it wasn’t over full. We arrived early and were asked if we wanted a garden seat or upstairs. There’s a choice of dining – outside, al fresco, (most of which is covered in case of rain), or upstairs in their air-conditioned room. We opted for the latter. The whole place has an air of quality. The furniture is heavy. The decoration is modern and tasteful, yet there are old fashioned touches – bamboo slats embedded in the double glazed windows for example.
We were shown to a table, and settled down. The service was spot on right from the start. A waiter asked if we’d like to order drinks before we started and we ordered a large bottle of water. 
A bowl of banana chips was brought and then the menu. This (it might just be temporary) was brought in on a large blackboard. There were three starters, about 8 main courses and one dessert. We were told the starter was large enough for two people to share, so we ordered the crispy sticky rice with Natang sauce. We also ordered our main courses, saving the option for dessert for later.
The starter arrived in a timely fashion. It was a nice plate of crispy rice “wafers” with fried frangipan flowers (a first for me) and “chips” of egg plant. There was a generous bowl of a curried mince sauce. The presentation was there – would the flavour be there? The answer was a definite yes. The taste was a delight. It wasn’t too spicy and the egg plant was fried perfectly. As for the crispy sticky rice, this was certainly crispy. I was glad I’d used extra glue on the dentures! Just as one passing comment – floating in the middle of the mince curry sauce was a lone prawn. Bearing in mind the starter was offered for two people, might it have made sense to have 2 so we could eat one each? I gave the prawn to my guest as he loves them.
The plates were cleared in a timely fashion. The waiter then asked us if we wanted anything else, maybe dessert? We told him we had ordered main courses and he said something about only being his second day. Hey! They’re new! We waited exactly the right amount of time for the main course to arrive. When it did, we were pleased with the appearance. Carrying food from a downstairs kitchen to an upstairs restaurant, through the open air, doesn’t enhance the presentation, but the taste juices were ready.
My friend had ordered the beef lok lak. I ordered the seafood with Campot peppers. So, first the beef. I couldn’t see how they could make a standard Khmer dish special. Man was I wrong. This was beef lok lak at top quality. Normally the beef is quite tough. This was so tender, it literally melted in your mouth. You could taste the flavour of the char grilled beef coming through the sauce. The accompanying pepper sauce was perfect. My friend (he’s Thai) commented “Too much tree”, but I think he meant general greenery. I would disagree with him.
As for my seafood, this too was a flavour sensation. The pepper had infused the sauce and flavoured the seafood. There was a nest of peppers themselves waiting for the adventurous. I tried them and they weren’t too hot. I realised at the end I had eaten the lot. It was just about spot on. I asked my friend and he said 99%. This was real praise indeed as his normal mark is around 30%. I’d go along with this score. for my dish.
We debated the dessert. My friend was too full. I was too really. I’d have loved a single scoop of wild berry ice cream (remember the Sugar Palm?), but the only dessert was mango and sticky rice. 
I succumbed. It was a work of art when it arrived. Plated up and served on a large banana leaf, the presentation here was spot on. It was served with a few lychees and a sprig of mint. It was too big for me – I could have shared it. But not wanting to disappoint, I finished it. It was really very good.
Final comments? It is a new place. The couple of teething problems will cure themselves. The smell of new paint in the upstairs restaurant will go quite quickly and everyone will settle in. It was not cheap, ($33.50 for what we had without wine), but it was top quality food. The main thing is they have got the menu and the cooking perfect. Full marks to the chef, and for the rest, we both decided on 99%. Give it another month and I’m sure it will be 110%. Go and give it a try. Let us know what you think.
You can see more on their facebook page here – and they have a website (currently under construction) here – http://www.chanreytree.com/
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