Peephuptmei Cambodian Restaurant

One of the many Cambodian restaurants in Lowell

After a long night of drinking with friends at the house, the Mo and I ventured out to seek Cambodian brunch.  We first headed to Simply Khmer and there was no parking, we went to Phnom Penh on Westford Street, still no parking, so we finally went to Peephuptmei on Branch Street.  Parking was still a bit tough but we eventually parked over an snow/ice bank and made it work.



The family run establishment boasts that it serves "Authentic Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese Cuisine", it's actually almost all Cambodian.

The restaurant also sells premade Cambodian snacks and hard to make specialties like "nom som", "nom bao" and "nom bot" that are popular in the community.

We were seated by the window and were quickly brought our complimentary hot jasmine tea. Similar to other Cambodian and Vietnamese restaurant, the utensils, napkins and Asian condiments are already on the table for convenience.

I put in an order of fresh spring rolls (4 rolls for $ 6.00) to start our meal.  The spring rolls were the best that I've had in the area.  There was ample pork and shrimp along with a variety of vegetables and herbs.

 Spring Roll $ 6.00

The Mo ordered an iced coffee drink made with condensed milk.

For our main entrees, we split chowfoon "mee ka thung" special and spicy beef "Cha sach ko kroueng"

The stir fried wide rice noodles left much to be desired.  It lacked flavor and color.  I didn't like they used regular broccoli in their dish.  Also there was no fish patty in the noodle dish either.  The beef was tough and fatty.

"Special" Me Ka Tang ChowFoon Noodles $ 7.50

The spicy beef dish was actually really spicy.  The Mo was like "even this is a little too spicy for me and I eat spicy food."  Unlike the beef in the noodle dish, the meat was tender.  The flavors of the Cambodian curry paste "kroeung" was perfected.  My only complaint is that they cut the jalapeno peppers similar to the bell peppers strips and I accidentally ate one. Boy was my mouth on fire!
Click here for my recipe for Spicy Beef

Spicy Beef Rice Dish $ 8.50

Similar to all Cambodian restaurants, complimentary clear broth is served with all rice dishes.

Things to know:

• There are two entrances, one on Branch Street and one through the back parking lot
• They do not offer tap water, you have to buy bottled water or drink the complimentary tea with ice
• The spicy beef dish is indeed SPICY!
• They make the best "Thuk Prahok" dipping sauce among the Cambodian restaurants in Lowell
• They do catering