Organization
Koh Ruessei (Bamboo Island) Noodles Restaurant
Koh Ruessei (Bamboo Island) Noodles Restaurant is a Cambodian restaurant on East Anaheim Street in Cambodia Town, Long Beach, California.[1][2] It serves home-style Cambodian food late into the night, and on weekends its karaoke draws singers well past midnight.[3][4][2]
History
For as long as most Long Beach residents can remember, the restaurant at this address was called Bamboo Island. It was a late-night meeting place where the older generations of Cambodia Town came to drink, eat and, above all, sing karaoke.[2] In 2018 or 2019 the business changed owners and took the name Koh Ruessei (កោះឬស្សី), the Khmer name for Bamboo Island, an island in the Gulf of Thailand.[2] In 2022, a mainly older crowd still came for long, easy lunches.[2]
Food
The menu centers on noodles. Nombanh chouk samlor Khmer, rice noodles with ground fish, comes with fresh greens and shredded banana flower. Phnom Penh dry noodles hold several meats and fresh greens, with the broth served in a separate bowl around a large pork bone.[2][5] Lort cha, short rice noodles also called teardrop or pin noodles, is fried with beef and served with fish sauce on the side; the student noodle is a similar dish made with shrimp.[2] Sngaor chrok sach maon is a sour chicken soup with bone-in chicken, whole mushrooms, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf.[2]
Other dishes include beef lok lak, beef sticks, barbecue beef with prohok or with anchovies, beef jerky, frog legs with lemongrass, fried quail and hot and sour beef soup.[6] Papaya salad is served too, and meals come with a range of sauces to season at the table.[4][7] The menu has dishes for vegans as well as meat eaters. Drinks include beer, iced coffee, Thai iced tea and smoothies with boba.[4][2][6]
Visiting
Karaoke is part of the restaurant's weekend activity, and guests can sing in English, Khmer, Spanish or other languages on request. The owner also DJs.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Koh Ruessei Cambodian/Khmer Restaurant, Home
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Eat the World LA, Koh Ruessei Restaurant & Bakery (August 2022)
- ↑ Restaurantji, Koh Ruessei Restaurant
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Eat The Way, Thai restaurants in Long Beach (June 2026)
- ↑ Wanderlog, Best Cambodian restaurants in Long Beach
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Atly, Top food spots in Cambodia Town