Elephant Walk

[Scharn]

I'd like to give a quick review of Elephant Walk (Beacon St.). As you may or may not know I had reservation for Bondir, then a work
emergency happened and I had to cancel. By 8:30 it was done, of course bondir was fully booked, and I got somehow tricked into going to Elephant Walk, which was a disaster.

Strictly with respect to food I was not impressed at all. I tried a salad with raw tuna which was OK (4/10), a noodle soup which was bland but also not bad (4/10), and their Amok Royal fish stew which tasted somewhat interesting -- there must be some herb in it I don't know yet -- but other than that really was nothing special. I didn't bother with desserts.

Wity respect to drinks I ordered Sake (their recommendation) and was EXTREMELY surprised when they served a sparkling (!) sweet (!) sake. It tasted like a cheaper Italian prosecco, definitely somewhat industrial and and artificial. While I can't remember the label, it was infact bottled in Nara (Japan), but bottom line is that you don't sell industrial, sweet, sparkling wine as Sake. At least not for $24 for a tiny bottle. 

I had a chance to also try my companion's drink (some Martini and pear cocktail) which was comparable artificially, industrial and sweet tasting, read: bad.

I would therefore rate drinks 0/10.

Service was not good, first we had to insist twice to get another table (AC was blowing directly into my neck), then we waited quite a long time.

Decor was tacky, very much geared to an American audience, not original Cambodian at all. Plates were decorated Western style, only fork and knife provided.

So overall "french cambodian in boston" sounded interesting but was a big disappointment. I would rate food and drinks overall a 2/10, service a 3/10 and value a 0/10: We paid around 130 for really not good food.

Verdict: Don't go there. I don't mean to be mean, but sometimes you just need to really warn people.

-----
Elephant Walk
900 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02215

Bondir
279 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139

[digga]

I don't recall using chopsticks much in Siem Reap, except for noodles. Are you familiar with Khmer cuisine and customs? Just because it's an Asian restaurant, that doesn't mean chopsticks are the main eating implement (that goes for Thai food, too, which is usually eaten with spoon and fork, except for noodles. Only farang get chopsticks with every meal.).

Also, the French influence in Cambodia is still quite strong. When you say that there was too much Western influence, well, I think that's the point of Elephant Walk. I haven't eaten at EW in ages, but you will find in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and French Polynesia that there is a really interesting mix of both French and native cultures. You think to yourself, "it just can't work," and it does.

[Scharn]

Well, that's true, but as you say at least noodle soup (which I had) should be served with chopsticks. In any case my point of criticism is not simply chopsticks (in fact I don't care much), but rather that it had a very faux-Asian, vibe -- and did neither feel like French nor Cambodian but rather as a very non-Asian, purely Western commercial operation that would dumb down Cambodian cuisine all the way to make it appealing to almost anybody.

[lergnom]

That's not fair. The restaurant was pretty good in the past, not a favorite of mine but lots of people thought the food was well executed. It is now bland, but that is not because of the decor.

[Scharn]

Yes, it is fair.

My original post focused on the food and drinks which did not impress at all. Especially that idea to actually recommend Sake with Amok and then to serve -- with a straight face! -- sweet, sparkling Sake was simply bizarre. They even did that little "Here have a tasting sip to see if it's corky."

Why was that wrong?

1. They told me it was "Sake", but Sake is never sparkling. I lived in Japan for a long time, and never was offered nor did I drink sparkling sake. It is basically a novelty-item that does almost not exist in Japan. Sure it's fine to serve it, but please inform me that it is sparkling. That's pretty much like serving a tonic that is non-sparkling when asking for a soft-drink.

2. The Sake arrived in a little bottle with screw top, but still they offered me to test if it was corked. How stupid is that?

3. It does not go well with Amok. The drink was way too sweet, way too sparkling and way to chemical-industrial tasting.

-

To me that drink suggestion really is a good example of the restaurant as a whole: Pick something Asian cause it sounds cool, pretend to be really knowledgeable about it and everything but completely miss the point.

[lergnom]

I don't have arguments on this board - they go nowhere - but if you read my post it doesn't talk about sake but specifically the decor. You said the decor was faux-Asian and you blamed the look and feel of the place for the food.

[Scharn]

No, I do separate between food and atmosphere and I found neither especially good and both had a very faux-Asian vibe to me. I didn't criticize the food because I didn't like the decor, but simply because it was not good.

[C. Hamster]

Ive had similarly bad and/or disasterous meals there over the past. Wont go anymore.

They have gone WAY downhill from their inception. The Beacon Street location is definitely dumbed down and they admit to that.

Salade Cambodgienne was one thing I always enjoyed though.

[Uncle Yabai]

Back when EW was the latest in innovative cuisine in Boston, say, early 1990's, it was really something special. Now it is just a sad shadow of its former self.

[Scharn]

Hey, that's a surprise! You're from the Japan board! Nice to hear from you!

[lergnom]

The food has become more bland over time. I've eaten there twice over the last year and neither time had much taste.

[teezeetoo]

thank you for posting though it is sad to hear they've deteriorated so much. someone on CH recently asked for "french vietnamese" type food and I mentioned elephant walk. It used to be pleasant and the food was certainly better than you describe now. I'll take it off my list.

[cambridgedoctpr]

amok royale is quite good, but i cannot think of another dish there that i find special. The idea of french/Cambodian fusion sounds interesting but you really just have mediocre French and mediocre Cambodian food.

[yarm]

Also inconsistent between the 3 locations. The Waltham one seems the better of the 3 with the Porter one having served us the poorer food with worse service.

[justbeingpolite]

I liked Waltham best when it was Carambola, and stuck more to just Cambodian choices. But that was a long time ago, before I found and started frequenting Sonmonorom, Simply Khmer and Tepthida Khmer in Lowell.

-----
Tepthida Khmer
115 Chelmsford St, Lowell, MA 01851

[lipoff]

I totally agree, although you can do worse than their Salade Cambodgienne, my favorite dish there. I find it completely laughable that their menu claims the "Traditional Cambodian" section of their menu is authentic. They do have a thoughtful blog post on this very issue (http://www.elephantwalktalk.com/2008/...), but the proof is in the food itself, which is watered down, under-spiced, and has few of the flavor or textural hallmarks of real Cambodian cuisine.

For the real thing try Floating Rock in Cambridge or Thmor Da in Revere.

-----
Floating Rock
485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

[StriperGuy]

Or Mittapheap in Lynn.

-----
Mittapheap
Lynn, MA, Lynn, MA

[lipoff]

Yes, I like Mittapheap a lot. I admit, however, that now that Floating Rock is right in Cambridge, and Thmor Da seems to keep more regular and accessible hours that Floating Rock did when it was in Revere, I haven't made it back out to Mittapheap.

-----
Floating Rock
485 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

Mittapheap
Lynn, MA, Lynn, MA

[Alcachofa]

I've been meaning to go back to Mittaheap all summer. Dammit!

[galangatron]

thmor da has the same days and hours as the old floating rock

-----
floating rock
Ave De Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111

[galangatron]

or any one of the many wonderful cambodian restaurants in lowell