"On the corner of Anaheim and Obispo, the edge of Long Beach’s Cambodia Town, Vannak Tan is wokking up spectacular Cambodian-inflected dishes. The unmistakable scent of garlic wafts from the 280-square-foot stall at all hours. After passing the reins of Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in Long Beach and Rice String Noodle Shack in Cerritos to his siblings in 2019, Tan and his wife, Manika, opened A&J Seafood Shack in 2020. Drawing on family recipes and street food traditions from Phnom Penh to Oahu’s North Shore, the diverse menu transports diners to far-flung destinations with pitch-perfect flavors. The house-special lobster, wok-tossed with aromatics, is hacked into manageable bits for easier eating. The Hawaiian garlic shrimp channels the food trucks dotting Oahu’s coastline. (It’s served with fresh pineapple slices and is one of the restaurant’s best-sellers.) The turf side of the menu features grilled beef baguette sandwiches, deeply redolent of lemongrass, along with sour and smoky Khmer sausages served over steamed white rice. — Cathy Chaplin, former senior editor" - Eater Staff
