Koh Ruessei (Bamboo Island) Noodles Restaurant

One of the privileges of living in California is having easy access to authentic dishes from many different cultures. Even better, Los Angeles and Orange County have concentrated “food towns” that make exploring international cuisines an adventure—Koreatown, Japantown, Chinatown, Thai Town, Little Saigon (Vietnamese Town), Little Ethiopia, Filipinotown, and of course, Cambodia Town in Long Beach. Trying different restaurants in each area and comparing them has become one of my favorite food journeys.

This time, I stopped by Koh Ruessei in Cambodia Town. Unfortunately, my experience fell short of expectations.

What didn’t work for me:

Service: I was given a plastic water bottle instead of water in a glass, which felt odd for a dine-in experience. Service was inattentive—at one point, staff silently removed condiments from my table to give to another. When my soup arrived, I realized I didn’t even have a spoon.

Food experience: I ordered the sour shrimp soup. The shrimp were unpeeled, and there was no clear place to discard the shells. Flavor-wise, it leaned much more salty than sour. The broth tasted like it was made from powder rather than prepared fresh, leaving it one-dimensional and unbalanced.

Value: For the price, the portion was small, and I didn’t feel the quality justified the cost.

Overall impression:
I can’t speak to the dish’s authenticity, since I’m not deeply familiar with Cambodian cooking. However, compared to other Cambodian restaurants in the same neighborhood, this meal felt less fresh and less flavorful. Cambodia Town has plenty of fantastic spots serving hearty, well-prepared dishes that feel homemade—unfortunately, Koh Ruessei just didn’t live up to that standard for me.

Their nombanh chouk samlor khmer is average but it has a better more balance flavor so it's better than the shrimp sour soup.

If you’re in Cambodia Town, I’d recommend exploring other restaurants in the area for a better taste of authentic, freshly made Khmer food.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 2

Very expensive and bad customer service. No real Thai food

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

wonderful

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food is delicious, tastes like Khmer, good service, I really like this food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I was feeling homesick and missing my home country and eating here transporter me back to Cambodia. I definitely recommend coming here for authentic Khmer food.

Food: 5

Amazing beef hot and sour soup Somlaw Ma-Ju Kreung Sach Ko- beef tripe, lemon grass, vegetable, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind, complex seasoning, just the right sourness and texture! Egg rolls was just okay. Spring roll ran out :(

Would like to try the beef lamb, eggplant Thai style, beef satay sticks and papaya salad next time. Close at 2:30 am which was a huge relief since we drove to Hyatt Regency Long Beach which was 7 minutes away.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 4

Terrible customer service and rude staff. Waited for 15 minutes for an uber eats pickup and the staff at the pickup table kept ignoring me and helping other customers. When I asked when it would be done she just snapped “almost done” vaguely.

Good Food, good service. While in town I was in the mood for Cambodian Dish. Great selection to choose from in the menu. Not a big fan of their fried egg rolls compared to other Cambodian restaurants but everything else was very good.

The food here is so good. This is my family and I's first time trying Cambodian food and it left a great impression. The food was amazing and they give you a plethora of sauces that you can use to customize your meal. The staff are also very nice and friendly. The only thing I would comment on is the cleanliness, as I saw a dead cockroach is the washroom but other than that this was an amazing experience.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 5

Service: 5

We traveled an hour, and it was WORTH IT. The food was sooooooo YUMMY!!!! and the people there are so humble and welcoming. Food taste just like yiey’s( Grandmas) HOME cooked meals. Go support this establishment. Huge thanks to the owners. We will be back. I ordered 8 dishes it came out to $140, WOW CAN’T beat the price. So affordable. Make sure to tip big for this small business they deserve it.

Vegetarian options: Few vegan options

Parking: Parking in the back.

Kid-friendliness: They were very sweet with my kids, made sure they approved the food and if they can accommodate anything. No need though it was perfect.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Beef Lok Lak, Beef Larb, Somlar Machu Kroeung, Beef Sticks, Beef Stick on Steamed Rice, Marinated Beef with Prohok Sauce, Shaking Beef

good food?, open late

Love the food it tastes so good and happy that there's a Cambodian restaurant that opens late while other Cambodian restaurant aren't open . Highly recommend this spot to grab a bite or order food it's the best food in town you will come back again for their Southeast Asian food. Try it out.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Anchovies Steak, Beef Lok Lak, Spring Rolls, Beef Larb, Nom Banh Jok Curry, Hot Pot, Beef Sticks, Beef Stick on Steamed Rice, Marinated Beef with Prohok Sauce

Mmmmm spicy papaya salad!Papaya soft soak with flavors and all.No annoying question asking me so how spicy, do u want crab or shrimp.Just say papaya salad and got it with both!I think the best papaya salad i've eaten.Beef sticks are delicious also.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Foods were good. Glad to see that there were quite a bit good singers. The owner which is a DJ did not put my only karaoke request in. What a dissapointment! We were asked to move to a smaller table when we almost done and ready to leave while there were still vaccant tables. The waitress appeared to be every tire. I hope the owner raise the salary or give them their tips to get them motivated. I love to support my people, but I am not sure if I want to go back again.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 2

i got food poisoning here and threw up BLOOD. never coming back

Food: 1