Marché Kei Phat: Phnom Penh Noodles - Aug. 9th

If you've been following the blog, you know that I love noodles and soup. I'm always game, whether it be pho or Phnom Penh noodles. Now, we rarely go out to restaurants to eat these two dishes anymore because we can make it at home. Since I moved away from school two years ago, my soup-making abilities have been a bit rusty. We've attempted to make both at home all summer, but they just didn't taste right.

Getting fed up, I was desperate to rediscover what a really good bowl of noodle soup tastes like. It just so happened that our family was going to go camping. We couldn't decide which Provincial Park we wanted to go to. My dad had suggested we try camping at a place outside of Montreal. Since the campgrounds was less than a two hour drive to Montreal, I decided to push for this particular Provincial Park. I know it's not really camping when you take a day trip into town, but hey - we did. And the main reason for heavily campaigning for that Provincial Park; Phnom Penh noodle soup. There's good restaurant inside the Marché Kei Phat grocery store, which happens to be owned by my uncle's family, that serves some really good Phnom Penh noodles in Montreal.

We had a snack before we drove to Montreal to have lunch. Everyone but Andrew and my mom had Phnom Penh noodles (some dry and some wet - I'll explain the difference later). They had Vietnamese style beef stew aka bo kho. It was funny because once the food arrived, no one said a word - even my mom, who usually has something to complain about, was quietly eating her bowl of Vietnamese-style beef stew. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera, but you're in luck...

... Because the following week, Lucy and Jimmy had to go to Montreal. Andrew and I tagged along to keep them company... uhh.. yes, Andrew and I were only there to keep them company. Anyway, after some convincing, we went back to the Kei Phat grocery store for some lunch - it wasn't difficult since Lucy loves Phnom Penh noodles (*evil laugh*).

I ordered a small Phnom Penh noodle soup, since I wasn't as hungry as I was the previous week (when I killed their medium bowl). Jimmy ordered the large bowl.



Topped with random bits of sliced pork, marinated ground pork, shrimp, preserved cabbage, cilantro, green onions, and fried garlic oil (one of the most important toppings for this type of noodle soup), these were devoured within minutes!

Lucy ordered the dry version of Phnom Penh noodles. The noodles were dressed with oyster sauce and dark soy sauce, and also had the other toppings that come with the soup version.






A small bowl of broth, along with a pork bone (or two) is served on the side. We also ordered some you tiao to soak up the yummy soup.

Andrew chose the bo kho (aka Vietnamese-style beef stew) with noodles. You can also get this dish with a baguette instead of the noodles. They don't serve a small bowl of the bo kho, so bring your appetite or a friend to help finish it.



Everything was eaten in under 20 minutes. Very little words were spoken.

~*~

Marché Kei Phat
4215 Rue Jarry Est
Saint-Leonard, QC
514-376-4590