Phnom Penh

In the heart of Chinatown, find one of the city’s most respected restaurants. Since 1985, this family-run institution has dazzled crowds with both Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes. The menu is massive, offering nearly 100 rice, noodle and soup preparations, but everyone knows to lean on the classics. You could almost make a meal out of #71, thin slivers of nearly-raw beef soaking in a tangy mix of pureed pineapple and fish sauce. It’s a deliciously original effort. Ordering a mound of golden-fried chicken wings coated in an addicting mix of salt, pepper and sugar is also a given. Beef luc lac with fried egg will round out a meal guaranteed to have leftovers. Be prepared to wait for a table; lines form almost as soon as the doors open.