Kampar Kitchen’s Angelina Branca reveals her favorite food spots in Philly

Angelina Branca’s Journey from Kampar, Malaysia to Sate Kampar and Kampar Kitchen

When Angelina Phang first arrived in Philadelphia, she felt confused and intimidated. The year was 2000, and for the then-twenty-something, Malaysian-born senior manager at Deloitte, this new city seemed dirty and not at all pretty. The societal problems that were kept hidden from the public in Malaysia seemed so out in the open here. But Philly’s charm is in its hidden gems.

Once Branca realized this, she turned into what she describes as an archaeologist determined to keep digging. Instead of sticking solely to the city center, Branca explored north, south, and west. Her search for halal meat took her to West Philly, while her love for Puerto Rican pernil led her to explore the Badlands section of North Philly.

In 2015, she left the safety and financial security of her corporate career. Her last job was as a partner at IBM. She went as far as to learn the American Idol contestants and even read up on the Kardashians to better follow along with co-worker conversations. But it just didn’t feel right. In her own words, “I just didn’t fit in there.”

Sate Kampar

In late 2015, Branca and her husband, John, opened Sate Kampar in the East Passyunk Crossing section of South Philly. “I wanted to show that our culture is not monolithic,” Branca says. “We had so many people coming in and asking for fried rice. They were surprised that an Asian restaurant didn’t serve fried rice and provide everyone with chopsticks.”

By 2017, Sate Kampar had become a destination restaurant and received a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant. People from nearby cities like Allentown, Wilmington, and even New York were making the journey to South Philly to try Branca’s coconut charcoal-fried sate (meat skewers, sometimes spelled satay), as well as her rendang (a type of dry curry often made with beef) and nasi lemak (coconut rice milk that’s considered the unofficial national dish of Malaysia).

Kampar Kitchen

When COVID-19 hit, business took a dive. While Branca and her team did their best to adapt, the rent eventually became too much, and they moved out by June. Sate Kampar continued to do pop-ups around the city before Branca started Kampar Kitchen from her new space inside BOK at the end of 2020. Kampar Kitchen now operates out of this former vocational high school turned workspace. The concept (which Ange conceived during her time running Muhibbah Dinners) allows local chefs to showcase underrepresented cuisine without having a permanent space. Menus and guest chefs change daily, and this new concept is keeping Ange’s food and vision alive until Sate Kampar finds a permanent space.

Kampar Kitchen’s Angelina Branca reveals her favorite food spots in Philly

While Branca loves to tell her own story, she also loves talking about her adopted city and why you should love it as much as she does. A simple “Hi Ange, where can I find Indonesian food in Philly?” can lead to a long, engaging conversation about what you should try at each place and why. If every city had an Angelina Branca, there’d be no need for Yelp. These nine Philly restaurants and cafes reflect Ange’s diverse palate and willingness to explore all areas of the city that she is proud to call home. 

Artisan Boulanger Patissier

This three-time James Beard Award nominee is her favorite bakery outside of France. In order to pass the Ange test, bread must be good enough to eat by itself. According to Branca, you should be able to bite into a crisp baguette or flaky croissant and enjoy the first bite with no condiments. She is on a first-name basis with Khmer-American owners Andre and Amanda. According to Branca, “Andre grew up in Paris, and he knows how to use the perfect combination of flour, salt, water, and yeast.”

The bakery is located just 200 feet from her first Sate Kampar location in South Philly. Artisan Boulanger Patissier is takeout only. No credit cards.

Nearest subway station: Snyder

Cafe Nhan

With the largest Vietnamese population in the Eastern United States, Philly is a competitive market when it comes to selling a bowl of pho. Locals like Ange are spoiled for choice when it comes to Vietnamese food. According to Branca, “It’s competitive here, and this place is my favorite.” While she enjoys a bowl of pho as much as the rest of us, her go-to at Nhan is the oxtail congee. Central Vietnam native Nancy (hence the name Nhan) and her son Andrew run this South Philly institution.

Nearest subway station: Snyder

Café y Chocolate

This is another one of Ange’s favorite Philly breakfast spots. She swears by Maricela’s Mexican hot chocolate and considers Café y Chocolate to be the only place in the city to get the authentic Oaxaca version. Many mornings, you can catch the high-energy chef grabbing brunch here before heading off to work at her new pop-up dining space, Kampar Kitchen.

Nearest subway station: Snyder

Freddy & Tony’s

This Spanish/Puerto Rican restaurant is the one exception to Ange’s belief that the best Puerto Rican food is made in mom’s kitchen. Her introduction to the island’s cuisine came when one of her line cooks brought her a large container of pernil (pork shoulder). She enjoyed it enough that she asked where in Philly she can find it. While she still prefers to get Puerto Rican food from her friends, Ange is happy to settle for Freddy and Tony’s in the Fairhill section (also known as the Badlands) of North Philly. They have two locations nearly smack in between the Broad Street and Market Frankford Lines.

Nearest subway station: Somerset

Hardena

There are a handful of Indonesian cafes and restaurants just west of Broad Street between South 15th and 18th Streets and Morris and Ritner. Hardena is Ange’s personal favorite. Owners and fellow James Beard Award nominees Diana and Maylia have become her personal friends, but she’s been coming here since their parents started the place in the early 2000s. Twenty years after they first opened and Ange moved to Philly, she and her husband still frequent Hardena. There’s usually no set menu. Branca refers to menus as a western thing and says that “In Malaysia, we walk into a place like Hardena, and look at the buffet-style options and pay.”

Hardena’s latest innovation is their “not pizza” box. They fill a large pizza box with appetizer-size portions of 18 different specialties, including ayam kalasan, tempeh goreng, and sayur singkong, for $81. You get what they give you, but Ange always asks for extra sambal sauce.

Nearest subway station: Tasker Morris

I Heart Cambodia

Cambodia’s cuisine is too often overshadowed by that of their Southeast Asian neighbors to the west (Thailand) and east (Vietnam). Khmer cuisine uses many of the same ingredients as Thai and Vietnamese but also has what Ange refers to as that “Cambodian funkiness.” Take, for instance, prahok, which is their pungent signature fish sauce, also known as Cambodian cheese. Brahok Ktis is one of I Heart Cambodia’s more popular dishes. It’s a combination of ground meat, coconut milk, lemongrass paste, kaffir leaves, and prahok, served with various vegetables for dipping. They have some quirky drinks as well, including their durian smoothie and the even more quirky egg soda (that’s a raw egg, seltzer, and condensed milk). Although the restaurant serves mostly locals, the staff are more than willing to help guide newbies through their first Khmer dining experience.

I Heart Cambodia is located along South 7th Street, near Mifflin Square Park. This area is South Philly’s unofficial Cambodia Town. Ange buys many of her ingredients in the nearby markets and also frequents the weekend Cambodian Market in FDR Park.

Nearest subway station: Snyder

Jezabel’s Argentine Café & Catering

While Buenos Aires and Patagonia get all the attention when it comes to Argentina, Palpala native Jezabel Careaga is proud to bring the recipes and baking techniques from her native province of Jujuy to West Philly. And Ange is glad that she did. Jezebel is a detail-oriented, hands-on chef and woodwork enthusiast who is not shy about showing patrons how to eat her hand-made empanadas properly. Ange comes here for the empanadas, but also the variety of teas. And while Ange is not a typical dessert enthusiast, she does enjoy Jezabels’ alfajores, pasta frola, and torta de ricotta.

Nearest subway station: 46th St.

Kabobeesh

Ange first discovered Kabobeesh when she was still getting to know the city and looking for halal meat. Twenty years later, it’s still her go-to place for zabiha Pakistani food. She usually goes for the mutton kahari with naan, but also enjoys resham beef.

Nearest subway station: 40th St.

Mom-Mom’s Kitchen

This is classic Polish comfort food with a uniquely Philly twist. Ange loves to bring friends to Mom-Mom’s to do a one of everything type of deal and share. They’re currently operating out of a small space on South Street, where you go up to the window and order. There’s a small seating area on the sidewalk, but most people take them to go. Their Guy Fieri-approved pierogi are hand-made to order. Options range from traditional potato or kapusta to the more American-centric Philly Cheesesteak and buffalo chicken.

Nearest subway station: Lombard South

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All pictures were shot with a Panasonic Lumix ZS100 4K Point and Shoot Camera.

Have you been to any of the places in this list? If so, which one? How did you enjoy? Leave a comment below!