Consider Koh Ruessei a one-stop shop for Khmer cooking’s greatest hits. Start with spring rolls and grilled beef skewers before moving on to the house-special beef lok lak and “Hainam” chicken.

Locals flock to Crystal Thai for pitch-perfect Cambodian cooking. Most everyone orders the beef skewers, papaya salad, prahok, and cha kroeung (an herb and aromatic paste used in stir-fries). Save room for the house-made desserts like sticky rice with plantains.

The classic Khmer cooking at Cambodia Town stalwart Monorom is as good as ever. Settle into samlors (communal hot pots), roasted meats, and specialties like the prahok ktis, a ground-pork curry made with coconut milk. Spoon it over steamed rice or even better, dip the snappy vegetables served alongside for a wonderful cool-hot contrast.

The Tan family has been dishing up Cambodian-style noodles, porridge, and fried breads here since 1985. The Phnom Penh noodles are a must-order for first-timers and regulars alike. Each bowl is layered with springy rice noodles, tail-on shrimp, porky odds and ends, fried garlic, and fresh cilantro, and can be served ladled with scalding-hot soup or “dry” with a bowl of broth on the side. Three different varieties of fried breads — cha quai, knom hing (sesame-studded doughnut), and knom sakieu (meat-stuffed pocket) — are available for dipping.

This 300-seat restaurant plays host to wedding celebrations and live music on the weekends since opening in 1988. Come in for classic Phnom Penh noodles and the beef lok lak, sauteed with cucumber, tomatoes, black pepper, and soy sauce.

There’s much to love at A&J Seafood Shack. The surf side of the menu is spectacular, with fresh lobsters hacked and stir-fried with aromatics, along with garlic shrimp that rivals the trucks on Oahu’s North Shore. Don’t overlook the turf side of the menu — the grilled beef baguette sandwiches are fantastic, while the Khmer sausages served over steamed white rice is worthy of obsession.

Opened in 2019, Naga Cafe Khmer Street Food serves fast-casual Cambodian cooking. The menu is easy to navigate at this order-at-the-counter establishment. Choose from noodle soups, sandwiches, rice plates, or porridge. There’s also good coffee to wash everything down.

Previously known as Sophy’s, Cambodian Town Food and Music on the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the area’s most successful and beloved Khmer restaurants. Here, owner Sophy Khut prepares her famous beef jerky, tubular hunks of flank steak that’s oven-dried and deep-fried. The vinegar and garlic dressing served on the side really makes the flavors sing. 

Cyclo Noodles serves up huge bowls of Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai noodle soups, along with stir-fried dishes and appetizers. Hone in on the Khmer chicken curry vermicelli noodles with fresh cucumber and mint.