Beyond Bangkok.

An enthusiastic eater's guide to underappreciated Southeast Asian cuisines.

Photos by Mark Stehle

Don't get me wrong: I love me some Thai and Vietnamese food. But in a city like this, filled with immigrants from all over Southeast Asia, it's worth occasionally foregoing more amply represented cuisines in favor of some old-fashioned culinary adventure. Cambodian, Indonesian, Burmese, Malaysian, Laotian, Filipino — all serve exciting, flavorful grub. The further you get off the path, the cheaper, more interesting and cozier your experience tends to get.

But before you get too far, stop by Chinatown to visit Rangoon (112 N. Ninth St.), the city's most famous Burmese restaurant. The cuisine of Burma, like that of some of its neighbors, revolves around fermented or pickled fish —ngapi — often used as the base for sauces and soups, which tend to be spicy, oily and a little bit sweet. Other dishes include light noodle salads, pickled vegetables and fried treats. Try Rangoon's firecracker lentil fritter, one of the more unusual incarnations of the humble lentil you'll find at any Asian restaurant, or the crispy Burmese pork wontons. The menu is full of affordable meat options, but you'll get a fuller experience with seafood. Try "Jungle Fish," or the unassumingly named "Chili Seafood," a mix of shrimp, scallops, squid and bell peppers in a thick, spicy, fruity garlic chili sauce.

So you've whet your palate among the crowds and comfort of Center City — it's now time to head south. First stop: Hardena (1754 S. Hicks St.), where the friendly Widjojo family has been serving up home-style Indonesian food for a decade. Matriarch Ena Widjojo is chief chef, with her daughters happily helping the uninitiated order from the selections of the day from point 'n' eat steam tables. The food of Indonesia — like its people — is diverse, and contains hints of everything from Indian to Chinese to Middle Eastern cuisine. Dishes use curries and sauces made with dozens of spices (cinnamon, coriander, lemongrass) plus lime leaf, a powerful additive that introduces an unmistakable and deliciously tangy note. Indonesian cuisine also claims satay, skewered meat in peanut sauce, as its own — Hardena offers chicken and lamb renditions. Other standbys here include the classic randang (hearty, spicy stewed beef soaked in spices and coconut milk)and my favorite, "yellow fish,"tender pieces of mild whiting cooked in a light, lime-leaf-flavored yellow curry. Food comes with Widjojo's homemade hot sauce — chilies mashed in oil with lime leaf and other sauces — and it's also for sale. The only catch is getting there in time to enjoy the food: Hardena is open only until 8 p.m. every day but Tuesday.

If it is Tuesday, fear not: Indonesia (1725 Snyder Ave.) is nearby. The selection here is absurdly large. One option is to try one of the prix-fixe menu options. Though they're not really a bargain —$20 to $30 per person, with a minimum table size of two —they're big enough to split three or four ways and offer great variety: 10 or so courses, served on a giant compartmentalized wooden platter. Menu 3 ($20/person) comes with a spring roll, chicken and coconut milk-based soup, shrimp in a bell pepper sauce, randang, hearty Asian spinach in a light shrimp-based broth, chicken and lamb satay, tilapia fillet in banana leaf and, for dessert, fried banana wrapped in syrupy coconut caking.

Cambodian food is notable for lime-leaf-flavored soups, strong notes of lemon and dishes powered by strong concoctions of fermented fish and shrimp. Prahok — the salty, funky, fish paste indigenous to Cambodian cuisine —is reason enough alone to delve deep into South Philly for "Prahok Ktis," ground beef stewed and served in rich, fishy paste. A good place to check it out —along with a platter of raw vegetables for dipping —is Kavei (320 W. Oregon Ave.), a restaurant just five months young behind the Oregon Diner. The staffers are as welcoming as anywhere in the city, and will politely warn you — but not, thankfully, stop you — before ordering such "mouth-inspiring" items. Another real treat here are the Cambodian "bitter leaves" (nhorm sdao), with grilled tilapia, in a light vinegar and tamarind shallot dressing ($9). It will leave your mouth wondering what it's been doing all this time. The soups ($10) are so good, by the way — try the Khmer-style sweet and sour soup or the winter melon soup.

Another must is New Phnom Penh (2301 S. Seventh St.). Like Hardena, it's family-run and caters mostly to locals. Its hours are slightly unnerving: open every day except Thursday, but only until about 7. See if you can't get "sick" next Friday, and let the Chiang family make you better with their crazy-affordable menu. The soups ($12-$13) are incredible — try the alliteratively delicious House Special Shrimp Sour Soup, a hangover-busting broth full up with pineapple, cilantro and lime leaf, plus whole unpeeled shrimps. Main-wise, get the Fried Frog in House Special Sauce ($8.50) — tasty (and very bony) cubes of frog meat in a creamy, mustard-flavored sauce. Another sure bet is the "Sauteed Beef Style" ($8.50): hunks of beef, marinated dry in a savory barbecue sauce, that you dip a special bowl of lemon and white pepper sauce.

All that barely scratches the surface. Malaysia's cuisine is a miracle in and of itself, with bewilderingly flavorful chili sauces and sweet red curries — try Chinatown's Banana Leaf (1009 Arch St.). May I recommend the fried octopus? For Laotian,try Café de Laos (1117 S. 11th St.) or Vientiane (4728 Baltimore Ave.). And we can't forget the Philippines — try Manila Bay  in the Great Northeast (6724 Castor Ave.).

(isaiah.thompson@citypaper.net)

Also In Dish