Cheng Heng Restaurant

My favorite place to eat a bowl of phở! The staff is friendly. I’m glad that they expanded the restaurant. The prices are decently priced. I would definitely recommend it.

Cheng Heng is a Cambodian/​Chinese restaurant based in the Little Mekong district of University Ave. This local restaurant provides a reasonable selection of authentic appetizers, dishes, and soups. The atmosphere is very causal and clean, the waiters are nice, and the large variety of seating (in numbers) is perfect for either a small or large group outing with friends & family. They have a small parking lot that is only accessible from University Avenue going East. so best to car pool if you can because the place can get pretty busy! They take both cash and credit, and the food is reasonably priced. So, if you’re craving some authentic Asian food, check this place out. You won’t be disappointed.

I always get a good greeting, service is more better than other asian restaurants, and food is always consistent along with price. Definitely a must go to.

First time here, which is really stupid since I live just 2 miles away. I will say it lives up to the hype!
My wife and I started with pork egg rolls and chive cakes. These were real egg rolls — crispy and very tasty — they tasted home made. The chive cakes were sublime, but I can see why some folks might not agree. It’s an unfamiliar texture to many: crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, but with some greenery inside, too (the chives). I only stopped eating them because I was getting full and wanted to save room for the entrée.
I had the Tarn Yam, which is a relative of the Thai Tom Yum, but different. Same basic ingredients, but the seasoning is very unique. It was a little challenging for my Western palate, but it may have been because I ordered it with shrimp, and it looks as if they use legs & head for flavoring (not sure about this). It was perfectly prepared, though, and I gradually warmed up to it.
My wife had #22, I think — basically beef noodle soup. She took one bite and her eyes rolled up. She said she’d almost order another serving, it was that good.
So, now that we’ve broken the ice, I’m sure my wife and I will be back again to continue to eat our way through the menu. Very good experience.

I had to try the chive cakes because it seemed like everyone recommended them! First bite… what are these? Second bite… why does everyone recommend them? Third… do I like them? Fourth… yes. Don’t even think about taking a bite.
The staff is super friendly! They are so proud of being voted the #5 best restaurant in the Twin Cities – and it shows! I had the #17: noodles, tofu, vegetables, with peanut sauce, all served with a side of rice. The flavor was divine. Took half home and still have to eat it… can’t wait!
Next time I’m getting the curry soup (#19), that’s what was recommended to me by a friend and wowie it looks delicious!

Order #38 with the large noodles! Probably one of the BEST soup dishes ever! So rich and tasty with their soft, slow cooked mouth melting beef pieces and fried garlic pieces. They also have some fresh made Cambodian style donuts from Thursday to Sunday. I always buy them when I head out to their restaurant. They run out of them pretty quickly so you might have to head out a little earlier. Love this spot!

I had a decent experience. Everything that my boyfriend and I ordered tasted okay. He had phở and said theirs tasted a bit bland. We also ordered a plate of crab rangoons, spring rolls and I had the khao poon aka, curry. Sometimes, I don’t know why I continue to buy curry from restaurants when I always end up not liking it. Theirs was not terrible but it was great either — at least to me. It was a too sweet & I typically like more of a spicier curry. In addition, I did not have enough curry broth. The spring rolls were good but the dipping sauce could’ve been better. It tasted…“water down” if you know what I mean. I think the crab rangoons won in my book. It was crunchy and delicious and the cream cheese was heaven! On the flip side, the waitresses wee helpful and gave us a great service but Serving us our food quickly and were good with refilling our cups of water.

Amazing dinner tonight. Some of the best food we’ve had in a while. Recently, we traveled to SEAsia on vacation. Since arriving back, we have been searching for authentic dishes from Thailand and Cambodia. Tonight’s dinner, #17 and #52 were delicious. Not only was the food spectacular, the hospitality from our hosts was genuine and appreciated. The tamarind stir fry dish was incredible. Actually, just ask Kevin the owner to set you up with some recommendations. We will be back next week!

I was really looking forward to go here with my husband. Unfortunately the night we went must have been a bad day, it was extremely busy, took 30 min to order, 1 hour to get the food and it was only so so. The spring rolls were not very good but the red curry was wonderful

Beef salad (recommended one)
Tamarind beef stir
Tom yum soup
Mussels stirfry
Cambodian ice tea
The wait staff was very accommodating and friendly. I think the above was really delicious and would definitely go back

On my first visit here I cam with a friend. We started with the chive cakes. They were super yummy and made me think of steamed/​pan fried chive dumplings I’ve had at dim sum, but on steroids. I was really enthusiastic and decided I’d get them for sure on subsequent visits. Unfortunately they haven’t been consistently fabulous. On my most recent visit they were underdone and kind of slimy inside.
For entrees we shared ban cheo (rice crêpe with shrimp/​pork filling) and roast pork laab (cold meat/​broken rice/​herb salad). Portions weren’t huge but with the appetizer we got full.
I’ve had ban cheo at some Vietnamese restaurants but I think it’s a hassle to make it so it’s not always on the menu. Cheng Heng’s version was light and crispy, not at all greasy, and comes with herbs and lettuce leaves. It carried a hint of sweetness and was light, refreshing, and satisfying.
My dining companion was a laab fan. Me, not so much. It tends to be pretty strongly acidic. The sweetness of the roast pork cut that acidity a bit in a way that I liked. My friend loved it.
Dined here again a week later with a party of five. We again got chive cakes, ban cheo (crepes) and tried three new items: Salad #10 (I think it was Nhum chicken salad), Green eggplant curry (#49 on menu) and a stir-​fried tofu/​veg dish with pineapple.
Everyone at the table loved the crepes but all agreed that the Nhum salad was even better, light and bursting with fresh herbal flavors. I felt that the stir fry was pretty forgettable, likely on the menu to appeal to people who expect Chinese food at any Asian restaurant. Plus I object to pineapple in main dishes so I may not be the one to ask. The curry was really tasty but be aware that they use firm green Thai eggplants, not the soft purple ones for this dish.
Service has been a little uneven – entrees came before appetizers, not really a problem. Also we had to go up to the cash register to ask for our bill, but our waitress was cheerful and friendly. Killer food at amazing prices makes up for fast-​food-​restaurant décor and less-​than suave service.

Phở, Ginger chicken, combo fried rice are my favorite. Never disappoint. Good price.

First time I came to Cheng with friends I thought it was an okay resturant. Small, crowded but had good reviews. Very small portions and place is very dirty. I tried so hard to like this place. So I thought I’d give it a try again. WRONG IDEA.
I took my mother here to eat hoping that maybe the second time here will change my mind. Wrong.
The waiter brought us water in cups that still had oil on it. I had to tell them to bring us new cups. Our eggrolls were so burnt that we only took one bite.
Our phở broth had a strange foot smell to it even my mother complained and said she couldn’t eat it because it made her Naseua. And when the waiter came to refill our water, he walked towards us like a lazy daughter who just turned 13, and spilled water all over the table because he missed our cups. Didn’t even apologize or clean up the water. Instead he went back to his seat and continue to eat!
They were so rude and expected me to tip them 15%. I refused to tip and they went and got a lady, who I assume must be the manager? And she demanded to I tip them 15%. I told her if she wanted a tip so bad I’ll leave them the change ($ 2.09) and she got mad.
I will never come here ever again. I don’t recommend this unsanitary place to anyone. And if any of my friends even tell me to come meet them there I rather refuse and go to Hoa Bien down the street.
I hope this place gets shut down.

Stopped here the other night when in need of a late night dinner and ordered up a regular size Kar Koo for $ 7. This was a really amazing bowl of noodle soup: broth was delicious and complex and the beef was nice in there. I got the flat noodles and was underwhelmed (tasted stale)… so I ate around most of the noodles, but I was still really happy with the soup (low carb). Great place on University to get a quick, cheap, authentic Cambodian meal and there’s a whole lot of menu to explore.

So I have been coming here for how long… a very long time!
When I first came here, I was all by myself not having any friends in the cities (I know, sad) Of course, I made friends easily at the University of Minnesota and organized a club, CSAM (Cambodian Student Association of Minnesota). Cheng Heng and Kolab Restaurant were the only two Cambodian restaurants we normally go to. There is a third restaurant in Richfield called Red Pepper.
But this restaurant has been around longer than the other two. The place is owned by a Cambodian/​Chinese husband and wife. They are very hard working couple. They are always nice and friendly every time I stop in. I was here during their renovation. They removed the jewelery shop they had for I don’t know how long. The space is nice and big now. When you walk, they first ask you how many people? They seat you right away. Their menu is big. They serve a lot of authentic Cambodian dishes and some Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese. If you are not sure of what to get, the staff is very knowledgeable with the menu. They speak English and Khmer. I normally get the same order because those are the only ones I can’t make at home. I love their Nnum and Plear Salad. My favorite soup is Angkor soup (Salor Machu Yeoun), I love it when they put a lot of vegetables in my soup. The lotus in that soup is absolutely my favorite thing. I like to have mine with fish and shrimps but you can get them with chicken or quail eggs (beef is not recommend in this soup). I like to eat my soup with a side of fish sauce and fresh Thai pepper, it is a Cambodian thing to do that. My FAVORITE Cambodian traditional dish that everyone needs to try is Prohok Ktiss, ground pork with fermented fish and coconut milk. Please get this!:)
Their appetizers are good too. I like their eggrolls and chive cakes. Must have! Oh, their spicy chicken wings are the best! Very spicy and tasty! They also serves Bobao Tea and regular jasmine tea. The prices are decent and good portion. You can never go wrong trying different food here. The bathroom is hidden in the back hallway. Parking is free and tight. If you don’t drive, you can always jump on the light rail because it is right there!

The food here is okay for Khmer food. I always get pahok ktiss which is great (though I recently found another place that’s better). Though this is a nice place, the food is very Americanized to accommodate a western palate.
I grew up eating a lot of Khmer food and it was a little disappointing for me, because the dishes were prepared so differently. Mind you, I’m from California. Coming to the twin cities, I knew there would be ethnic places around but the authenticity of it wouldn’t be able to par strongly. However, it’s the closest thing to home I’ll get here.
Their cha kreoung tasted like mongolian beef and traditionally, cha kreoung is based on lots of lemongrass in which I didn’t detect. Their trey chien choun was basically fried fish tenders/​filets. Traditionally, it is a whole, deep fried fish with thinly sliced ginger and lots of sieng (a type of salty, fermented beans). Their salaw machu kreoung is also very mediocre. While still tasty, it is far from the traditional, authentic dish. I do recommend their curry noodles, sweet and sour soup, however. Staff are quite amiable as well.

JUMPING COCKROACHES INCLUDED! just in case you don’t have any one else to share your food with…
#61 fried fish were awesome! Until we found cockroaches crawling around… YAAAY! ^_^

This had to be one of the fastest services I’ve ever experienced. The 7 of us all had our waters before we even had a chance to sit down, holy moly!
I’ve never had cambodian food before, nor did I know what to expect. When it comes down to it, I feel like they add some variations to asian foods and add «Cambodian» in front of it (not that it’s a bad thing!). Like cambodian coffe (vietnamese coffee), cambodia tea (thai tea).
The spring rolls here were good, but different (more cambodian?). They’re a bit chewier and it doesn’t come with the typical peanut sauce.
Jonathan T suggested the Kar Koo which was what I got. It’s similar to the Vietnamese Mi Bo Kho, but instead of the thin egg noodles, they used thick rice noodles. The broth and meat was identical though. That was good, as well!
I really wanted to get something from the bakery. One of the workers saw me eyeing the case and gave me that last nudge and I grabbed a baked taro ball. I probably got too excited because it was lacking in the taro department and was too greasy for me.
I’d recommend giving this place a shot!

The first time I came here was for an International Supper Club CMYE. Which is always a great introduction to a any restaurant that you want to try one of everything at. We ordered an array of apps. Messy, tasty apps. Cheng Heng is a great place to sit down with a bunch of people and all stick your hands in the same dish. I won’t go into that event’s details too much in this review because I think that is illegal to do on Unilocal or something. But I will say my favorite appetizers were the chicken wings and mussels.
So the first time I tried the chive cakes I was reminded of dim sum delicacies. Which is a very good thing. But I wasn’t digging the texture so much. It gave me the impression of being under cooked. Buuuuut of course my second time here is when I realized I want to make love to said chive cakes. I’ve already learned to love their soft and crispy, savory goodness. And that SAUCE. AH. I am also moderately to severely obsessed with their «#46» Cambodian sour soup (Machu Angkor?). I enjoy the seafood version. It comes out piping hot, and is sweet, savory, tangy/​sour, and soul-​soothing. It has pineapples, lotus root, tomato, zucchini, flaky fish, shrimp, and fresh herbs in it. It also comes with rice and the servings are generous enough that I take home leftovers. Thank you, Cindy, for the recommendation! And translation!
In conjunction with my new obsession, I flew down here after work and ate on my own because I needed the soup and chive cakes so bad. It was worth having a child come up to my table and just stare at me rabidly eating alone… (actually I think she sucked for doing that). And then I struck up conversation with the owner (or one of them?). She is such a sweetheart and when I saw some donuts in the glass case she gave me a few for free because she said they weren’t fresh. I was ecstatic. A donut does not have to be fresh for me to eat it. A donut does not have to meet health codes for me to eat it. It was delicious by the way — homemade with a sesame seed glaze. I need to try that Kar Koo soup that JT is batshit crazy for.

Before you enter the restaurant, pls keep your mind as open as possible. This isn’t another, regular Thai-​like restaurant. Nothing here is americanized so the food is as close to homemade and as authentic as you can get. Try the Cambodian donuts. Owner mentioned that It was made w/​rice flour, palm sugar and coconut if I heard right. Really good stuff and you won’t find it anywhere else!
Another thing to point out is that they’ll let you eat in peace, not bothering you every 5 mins. if you like being bothered while eating your food then this place isn’t for you. Just raise your hand and someone will be more than willing to help.
The dishes are affordable and the staff is super friendly. There seems to be a diverse customer base which I like. It’s a must go if in Minnesota!