Click for more photos from Num Pang.
New York City’s favorite Cambodian sandwich chain Num Pang opened its third store on the corner of 26th Street and Broadway on Feb. 20. The new location, Num Pang NoMad, has 30 seats and features new mouthwatering dishes like the marinated pork steak rice bowl and the coconut shrimp noodle, as well as its classic selection of unique sandwiches.
Co-owner Ratha Chaupoly opened Num Pang as an off-shoot of Kampuchea Restaurant, his former Lower East Side spot. Since the first Num Pang location opened on 12th Street near Union Square in 2006, the restaurant rose to fame on the metropolitan food scene for its sandwiches, adding a milestone to the greatly popular Asian fusion cuisine. Inspired by the glowing success of their first store, Chaupoly and Daitz opened their second location in June 2011.
The newest NoMad location is the first to offer seating. The restaurant is designed to attract more customers during into the late hours of the night.
“There is more nightlife going on in this neighborhood, so we wanted to offer people a place to sit down and have dinner,” Chaupoly said.
In addition to the spacious dining environment, the store is the first location to have a beer and wine license. NoMad serves a variety of Asian beers and Cambodian sangria, which is made with red wine, various tropical fruits, Thai basil and Chaupoly’s secret ingredients.
This destination also offers rice and noodle options the other locations do not serve.
“We added new menu items since sandwiches are usually a lunch option,” Chaupoly said.
Customer favorites include the grilled spicy pork rice bowl ($9.75) and the grilled market fish with rice bowl ($10.75), both served with either brown or jasmine rice. Other popular choices are the coconut shrimp ($9.75) and the grilled steak noodle bowls ($12.75), which are served with cold vermicelli noodles and variety of herbs. The restaurant also offers vegetarian options such as the seasonal vegetarian rice bowl ($8.75).
Num Pang’s classic sandwiches are not to be missed. The five-spice glazed pork belly ($8.50) and the pulled duroc pork ($8.25) are both delicious options.
The entrees should be accompanied with a side of grilled corn ($3), which is doused with chili mayo, coconut flakes and chili powder.
LSP freshman Jason Horwitz enjoys Num Pang’s sandwiches immensely.
“The five-spice glazed pork belly is truly delicious,” he said. “The meat is really well-cooked and is not dry at all.”
Chaupoly insists that, although Num Pang is expanding, the restauran’ts philosophy — to serve up delicious Cambodian-influenced cuisine while getting most of ingredients from local markets — remains the same.
“[Aside from the new liquor license], not much has changed from our other stores,” Chaupoly said. “We are just sticking to what we know.”
Num Pang NoMad is located at 1129 Broadway.
Daniel Yeom is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].