Elephant Walk

This weekend my friend from home Vera came for a visit, and in honor of her Cambodian roots we went to Elephant Walk for dinner.

They have a multitude of locations, but we decided to go to the one in Fenway. The menu is divided into two categories: French and Cambodian - with no real fusion dishes. Although a part of me is curious to know what a French-Cambodian fusion entree would be like, I appreciated the option to order a traditional Cambodian dish - especially since Cambodian cuisine isn't exactly common in the Boston (or even from what I could tell - the NYC) restaurant scene.

To start off with, we ordered the Nyoum Trasak Cambodian salad: sliced cucumber, chicken, red bell peppers, chilled soba noodles, basil, mint, crushed peanuts, and chili-lime dressing. It was hot and muggy all weekend, and the salad was refreshing thanks to the combination of mint, lime, and crisp bell peppers

For entrees, Vera ordered the Loc Lac: beef tenderloin cut into cubes and caramelized in a sauce composed of black pepper, mushroom soy, and garlic. The beef was well-done but still tender, and the sauce had just the perfect degree of sweetness

I chose the Khar Saiko Kroeung: boneless beef short-rib with jasmine rice seasoned with scallion oil. The beef short-rib was yummy enough - like the Loc Lac the sauce was sweetened- but the best part was the jasmine rice with scallions. I'm normally not much of a rice consumer, but this time I finished all of it

Finally, for dessert we shared the Gateau de Banane Carmilisee: banana custard with pate brisee pastry, and caramelized banana-flavored pastry cream. The pastry was rather thick and was the consistency of the crust that you get with Costco pumpkin  pie - perhaps even a bit firmer. The banana-flavored pastry cream was also a strange consistency. After being caramelized it was almost similar to marshmallow fluff in texture and flavor. I'm not a fan of marshmallow, so this didn't sit well with me

It's strange for me to be leave a restaurant with the feeling that dessert was the worst part of the meal, but that was the case here. I'm sure plenty of people out there will disagree with me, but marshmallow = NOT YUMMY

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Elephant Walk
900 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02215