The Elephant Walk restaurants, one in Somerville, the other in Brookline, are another warm family venture, this time Cambodian. Nadsa Perry and her mother Longteine de Montiero recreate fresh and intriguing Cambodian flavors, plus some with French influences. A new restaurant, Carambola, in Waltham concentrates on traditional Cambodian food. Discovering Malaysian cuisine can be fun and hip at Penang in Chinatown. Plates piled with beef rendang or giant coconut shrimp and festive glasses of ABC, a drink of shaved ice and red beans waft, by and soon even the shyest diner is asking his neighbor what that dish is.
Loyalists abound in Boston.
There are many who almost always go to East Coast Grill in Cambridge where Chris Schlesinger specializes in downhome food - spicy barbecue, lively fish dishes and great coleslaw. The ambience matches the food and the informality is contagious. Jae Chung is a one-man whirlwind with devotees across the metro area. All of the Jae's, in the South End, Theater District, Cambridge and Chestnut Hill, Brookline, are slightly different, but the big draw is Jae's take on light, bright Asian cooking. Dali in Somerville captures the same spirit as its namesake.