I’ve lived in Long Beach for almost seven years. While I’ve eaten my way through many of the city’s food offerings, I’ve only made it to Cambodia Town’s restaurants a handful of times.
Part of that was because it wasn’t something I knew much about. What should I order? How is it different from other Southeast Asian cuisines, like Vietnamese or Thai?
Unconsciously, I think I was holding out for a chance to experience the food firsthand from someone who understood its culture and origins.
So when James Tir, an Instagram food influencer, aka Long Beach Food Coma (LBFoodComa), reached out to ask if I wanted to take a tasting tour of Cambodia Town restaurants, I immediately said yes.
Tir is Cambodian-American and grew up in Long Beach. He regularly covers a variety of food in the city and has the knowledge of Khmer cuisine I was looking for. He seemed the perfect guide.
When we met, he explained that Long Beach became a landing spot for Cambodians in the 1970s and 1980s after the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. And, like many immigrants, they brought their traditional cuisine with them.
Cambodian cooking is influenced by rice fields, tropical jungles, and the Mekong River, using ingredients such as lemongrass, tamarind, and prahok (fermented mudfish).
Most people’s reference point for Southeast Asian cuisine is Thai or Vietnamese food, but Tir says Cambodian cuisine is distinctive.
“Its flavor profiles are less about balance and subtlety and more about enjoying a broad range of experiences in one sitting,” he says. “It unabashedly plays with bitter and acrid flavors and harmonizes with, rather than hides the intensity of, those dishes.”
With that quick education, we were on our way.
About Cambodia Town
- Cambodia Town is a 1.2-mile stretch along Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero Avenues.
- It’s home to the largest Khmer (also known as Cambodian; the two terms can be used interchangeably) population in the U.S.
- Many Cambodians arrived in Long Beach as refugees in 1980s after the overthrow of the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime.
