Phnom Penh Noodle Shack is a family-owned Cambodian noodle restaurant in Long Beach, California, that began in 1985 as a tiny five-table “shack” serving simple Cambodian dishes, grew in reputation through the 1980s and ’90s under the Tan family, and was rebranded with a modern interior as Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in 2012 while continuing to share its rich culinary heritage with the community. Thw restaurant serves traditional Cambodian-style noodle soups and comfort dishes, featuring rich broths with rice or egg noodles, a variety of proteins like pork, shrimp, beef, and chicken, as well as stir-fry noodles and rice porridge that reflect the bold, aromatic flavors of Khmer cuisine.  I ordered the Phnom Penh Noodle House Special, which uses pork meat (sliced, ground, stomach, liver) and shrimp with big rice noodles. Served with pickled chili. The organ meats certainly give this soup an iron-y flavor. The plum soda was salty but so interesting - especially as a counter to the soup.

Grade: B

Sophy’s is a casual, family-oriented Cambodian restaurant known for its authentic Khmer and Southeast Asian dishes with some Thai influences, served in a comfy space located in Long Beach’s Cambodia Town. Sophy’s is a bit cluttered but clean. The neighborhood where the restaurant sits is the first Cambodia Town in the United States. The menu is large. Items labeled “Khmer” are intended to be traditional Cambodian. I ordered the "ahmok," which is a steamed fish curry and is the most famous dish in Cambodia. Catfish fillets are simmered in coconut milk with lemongrass, galangal, fingerroot, makrut lime fruit and its leaves. The curry is thickened with egg that creates an almost foamy custard. It's a bit funky, but it's also very interesting and delicious. Grade: A

Cambodia is a southeast Asian country that borders Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. If you're like me, you may not be familiar with Cambodian cuisine, so I took to Wikipedia for a briefing:



"The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are num banhchok, fish amok and aping. The country also boasts various distinct local street foods," the website reads.



While passing through Eureka, California, on a national parks road trip, my friends and I stopped at Annie's Cambodian Cuisine and were excited to try this new-to-us cuisine.



I started with a strawberry smoothie with tapioca boba. It was just like a strawberry milkshake and boba tea had a baby with all the best features of each. I also ordered Annie's Cheese Puffs, which are wonton wrappers filled with cream cheese and green onion, fried to a golden brown and served with housemade sweet and sour sauce. These were essentially like the crab rangoons that I order anywhere I can. And yes, the fried cream cheese is as delicious as ever.



I ordered pad thai with shrimp, which is rice noodles stir fried with egg, bean sprouts, lime and peanuts in a peanut sauce. This is one of my favorite dishes of all time, and this version is a great example. It was moist and flavorful and had some nice variation in texture.



Grade: A