Organization
Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food
Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food is a fast-casual Cambodian street-food restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Signal Hill, California.[1][2] Paul Thu opened it in the summer of 2019 on the edge of Cambodia Town, directly across the street from Sophy's.[3][4]
History
Before the restaurant, Thu worked in the doughnut business and wanted to branch out. He opened Naga Cafe to bring Cambodian flavors to Long Beach.[3] By June 2021 its dining room had reopened, and that September the cafe was a little over two years old.[2][3]
Food
The menu is built on Cambodian street food, cooked in an open kitchen.[2] The cooking balances sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors. Meats are marinated and grilled until charred, pickled vegetables add brightness, and the clear broths are seasoned with lemongrass, garlic and chili.[5]
The menu centers on sandwiches, skewers and noodle bowls.[4] The sandwiches are num pang, which the menu calls Khmer sandwiches. They come on baguettes, either long French-style loaves or rounder rolls, toasted over a fire, with pickled green papaya, carrots and a house spread.[2][1] Fillings include barbecue pork with a slice of jalapeño, beef, chicken, crispy fried chicken, Khmer grilled beef sausage, grilled beef sticks and buttered herb prawns.[2][1] The sausage, twako, is made from ground beef, lemongrass and Khmer herbs.[3] Sach ko jakak are grilled beef sticks infused with kreung and charred on the outside.[1]
Rice plates come with pork, beef or chicken. The beef skewer plate brings three lightly charred skewers with rice and pickled green papaya and carrots, and there are also grilled prawns and shrimp fried rice.[2] For the poached chicken, Thu special-orders free-range birds, because most chicken in Cambodia is free-range.[3]
The noodle soups, including kuy teav, share a common base with a choice of meats.[2][1] Thu makes the broth for the Phnom Penh noodle soup from both chicken and beef.[3] The house special version holds sliced and ground pork, liver, pork meatballs, chicken, crispy duck and shrimp, topped with fried garlic and served with fresh lime and pickled hot peppers.[2] Rice porridge is served all day, not only at breakfast; the house porridge has pork blood, pork belly, liver and shrimp.[2]
Khmer chicken wings come in jalapeño, sweet-and-spicy and Khmer Hot versions.[1] A chalkboard lists items off the menu, such as spring rolls and Naga wings.[2] Drinks include fresh lime soda, coffee and cappuccino.[2] In 2021 the most popular drink was the cafe's own version of Vietnamese iced coffee, brewed the Cambodian way and slightly less sweet.[3]
The space
The dining room is small, with a long communal table beneath photographs of Angkor Wat, a city street, traditional dance and a street vendor grilling chicken skewers.[2][3] The restaurant sits next to a Quality Inn motel.[1] It is built for counter service and grab-and-go meals, and many customers come at lunchtime to take their food with them.[4][2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Of All Places LA, Where to Eat Cambodian Food in Long Beach (August 2026)
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Eat the World LA, Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food (September 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 LBCC Viking News, This week's Thursday take out review: Naga Cafe (June 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Infatuation, 10 Great Cambodian Restaurants in Long Beach (May 2022)
- ↑ Foresyte Travel, Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food, Signal Hill