A New Chapter at The Garden
Yi Sang: Cantonese Heritage Meets Cambodian Soil
Under the soft lights of Yi Sang The Garden in Toul Kork, 170 distinguished guests gathered last Tuesday evening for the unveiling of the restaurant’s new Cantonese Khmer heritage menu — a quietly ambitious moment that signalled both the next stage of one of Phnom Penh’s best-loved Chinese kitchens and a renewed commitment to the country whose farms, ponds and spice plantations feed it.
The launch was presided over by Chef Luu Meng, co-founder and CEO of Almond Hospitality, who welcomed guests alongside representatives of the Ministry of Commerce, Oriental Bank, the restaurant’s wine partners, and a roomful of friends, regulars, and industry peers.
The new menu is built around the idea of harmony — long-loved Yi Sang classics sitting beside new dishes developed by the kitchen’s Chinese and Cambodian chefs working in tandem. The through-line, Chef Meng told the room, is the produce itself. Local farms supply the bulk of the ingredients, and many dishes arrive at the table having travelled only a short distance from the field or boat that yielded them. A dedicated section of the menu showcases Kampot pepper and local spices, placing one of Cambodia’s most internationally celebrated seasonings at the centre of several signature plates.
“Inside each of our new dishes, there is a story,” Chef Meng said — and he meant it literally. Each item, he explained, can be traced back to a region, a producer, or sometimes a single grower. There is a sense of place, history, people, and patient practice in every ingredient, in every dish.
He acknowledged the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the introductions that have made those farm-to-table relationships possible. It was a gentle but pointed reminder that fine dining in Cambodia is increasingly the product of careful collaboration between kitchens, ministries, and the rural communities upstream of both.
True to form, Luu Meng kept the evening warm, and the laughter in the room was sincere and joyful. His speech was also from the heart, the kind that only comes from a chef who genuinely enjoys feeding people and making them smile.
The launch also doubled as a strategic announcement. Chef Meng confirmed that Yi Sang will soon open a new branch in Sihanoukville, marking the brand’s first move into the coastal province, and that Almond Hospitality is now actively exploring franchising and branch-management partnerships.
He extended an open invitation to potential investors with suitable locations to begin conversations with the group, which has offered to assist in assessing site viability. Special thanks went to Datuk Phan Ying for his ongoing role in introducing valued clients and partners to the restaurant, and to Oriental Bank, whose support of major events at Yi Sang has helped position the restaurant as a preferred venue for corporate and social occasions in the capital.
If the evening had a single message, it was continuity. Yi Sang’s Cantonese roots run deep, but the kitchen is restless: new dishes arrive regularly, the menu evolves with the seasons, and draws inspiration from the ongoing conversations Luu Meng continues to have with farmers, fishermen, and his own chefs. The mission, he told guests, remains rooted in Cambodian produce, creative cooking, and the warmth of service that Yi Sang’s regulars have come to expect.
By the close of the night, with glasses raised and plates cleared, the new menu had done what every good menu should do. It had told a story, fed a crowd, and made everyone in the room feel, however briefly, like one big family.
Darren Gall
