Organization
A&J Seafood Shack
A&J Seafood Shack is a takeout-only Cambodian seafood stand on Anaheim Street in Long Beach, California. It opened in 2020.[1][2] It takes revered Cambodian-Chinese seafood dishes, once served at special occasions, and serves them in takeout boxes.[3] Vannak Tan and his wife, Manika, founded it and Tan owns it.[1] Tan is the eldest son of the family behind Phnom Penh Noodle Shack, about a mile away.[4][5]
History
The Tans drew on the food they grew up eating at Khmer family backyard barbecues and on dishes they found on family vacations, including on Oahu's North Shore.[4] The stand is a 280-square-foot (26-square-meter) stall in a strip mall at the corner of Anaheim Street and Obispo Avenue, where the Zaferia and Eastside neighborhoods meet, on the edge of Cambodia Town.[1][6] As of 2026 a second location operates at 530 South Gaffey Street in San Pedro.[2]
Food
The menu blends Cambodian and Hawaiian flavors, from family recipes and street food spanning Phnom Penh to Oahu's North Shore.[4][1] Each dish is made to order.[2] The seafood includes wok-fried lobster and crab, crab legs, grilled oysters, salt-and-pepper shrimp tossed with fried garlic, jalapeños and lime juice, and Cajun-Khmer seafood boils.[1][4] The house-special lobster is wok-tossed with aromatics and cut into pieces for easier eating. Crispy salmon comes in fried chunks with mango salsa and sweet tamarind sauce.[1][5] The garlic shrimp plates follow the shrimp trucks of Oahu's North Shore, with caramelized garlic, spices and butter, served with pineapple, lemon and rice.[3][4]
The Khmer side of the menu includes lemongrass beef sticks and twako, also written kwa ko, a fatty, slightly sweet fermented beef sausage served over steamed rice.[3][4][1] For the beef sticks, the beef is marinated in kroueng, a pounded paste of lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and chilies, then skewered on bamboo and cooked over an open flame.[3] They come over jasmine rice with slaw, or two to a demi-baguette with green pickled papaya slaw and Sriracha mayonnaise as the beef stick sandwich, a menu item since the first day.[3][1] Pickled papaya and cabbage come on the side.[4]
Press
LAist included A&J in the Long Beach edition of its Cheap Fast Eats series, and again in a 2024 tasting tour of Cambodia Town.[3] The Infatuation named it in a guide to Long Beach restaurants.[5]
Visiting
Orders are placed at the window. Seating is on stools along a wraparound patio facing the intersection, with a few tables outside the window, and many customers take their food to go.[1][5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Postcard, A&J Seafood Shack, Long Beach
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A&J Seafood Shack, home page
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 LAist, Come with us on a tasting tour of Cambodia Town in Long Beach (September 2024)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Of All Places LA, Where to eat Cambodian food in Long Beach (August 2026)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Infatuation, The best restaurants in Long Beach
- ↑ A&J Seafood Shack, home page (2021)