The owners of Sahbyy Food at the Southeast Asian Market did not set out to create a new menu item in 2022 when they added lemongrass cheesesteak to their offerings but it has become among their most popular, writes Chloé Pantazi-Wolber for Philadelphia Magazine.

Pidor Yang and her husband Yen created around 1,000 sticks of lemongrass-tinged beef to sell at a Cambodian New Year festival at a Philadelphia temple. However, when they realized they were not selling enough in the hot sun, they took the food back home, not knowing what to do with it.

Pidor had earlier started selling Cambodian fare like chicken curry balls and pepper chips at the Southeast Asian Market, but the couple figured it made no sense to bring the lemongrass-tinged beef sticks there as there were many vendors grilling there.

Feeling defeated, Pidor visited her friend to decompress. Then she received a call from her husband.

“He called me up really, really excited,” said Pidor. “He said, ‘Babe, you have to come home right now. I just made this sandwich, and it’s phenomenal.’”

Once she tried the sandwich she agreed, and they started selling it at Sahbyy Food. It has since become so popular that it often has long lines at the Southeast Asian Market.

Read more about the lemongrass cheesesteak at Philadelphia Magazine.

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