Golden Lake Eatery Cambodian Restaurant

Great food and taste, very good service. If you are around China town certainly this is the place you should go. Loved it!

Omg, bought 3 tasty vietnamese sandwiches, a souper bowl Phò, 4 egg rolls, and 2 drinks for like, 19 bucks! Humongous selection of desserts! Great food quality and Great prices. Plenty of parking kicks this bad Boi up to 5 stars!

I really wanted to like this place because there aren’t many Cambodian restaurants around LA or SGV area. Though there are many in Long Beach, I don’t think it’s worth the drive. We would normally go to the Battambang restaurant in San Gabriel, but it closed down.
The hostess was really nice until she got my order wrong. I ordered the #37 Fried intestine with rice. Instead, she gave me duck with rice. She showed me the menu and kept insisting that #37 was duck when clearly it said fried intestines. Anyways, simple mistake I guess.
I finally got my plate and it was gross. I’m not saying that because of what happened earlier. The intestines were brown, soft, and gooey. It tasted like it was pan fried in burnt char. I literally almost gagged. So much for the fried and crispy.
My boyfriend got his favorite dish: beef lok lak with fried rice. He didn’t like it either. The fried rice was bland, and they were skimping out on the beef.
Sadly, I won’t be returning and will continue my mission to find a good Cambodian restaurant.

I went with my girls specifically to this place because it was rated highly and it’s a type of food I know little about. We ordered three items and none of them were especially impressive. The beef Lak Lok was the good but the egg rolls were just a bore.
OK but not impressive. And not REMOTELY worth 4 and a half stars.

the portions are teeny tiny
we ordered the lemongrass chicken
as well as the shaken beef
and i was taken aback by just how little meat there was
in comparison to the rice
flavor-​wise, the chicken was pretty bad (dry and bland)
but the beef was decent
also got the pork bone soup with noodles
it was just ok
there is another cambodian restaurant with a super long name
right around the corner
i’d rather eat there

I come here all the time for the Vegetarian bánh mì and oh my gawwwwddd, it is so good, like a foodgasm in your mouth. The sandwiches are always hot and fresh plus the size was worth your money. It is way way way better than Lee’s and Ba Le! Don’t ever waste your money going to those places to get like a half assed sandwich when you can come here!(;
¹⁰⁄₁₀ would come again

If you love the small, unspoiled business that turns out authentic ethnic food unrushed and with lots of love and care than this is your spot.
It is not a show stopper in appearance but it is outstanding where it counts. If you love Vietnamese food then you will love Khmer food. As an intro meal I highly recommend the beef Lak Lok and fried rice and the #14 Noodle soup. Both pictured.
Enjoy!

3 stars for being shady this one time
+1 star because I still like their Bánh mì
This place has gone through several name changes and managements. I only come here for their vietnamese sandwiches so my review is based on that.
Even though this business changed many times, their sandwiches remain the same except they use small french bread which means the overall portions are just smaller in general. All the sandwiches are only $ 3 no tax. Since I love chicken, I always order the charbroiled chicken sandwich (#5 on the menu) or I would order the classic sandwich (#1 on the menu).
For the most part, my experience is always positive and everything is good. However, during my most recent visit, the grandma that works there makes the best sandwiches was not there. I ordered both the chicken and the classic sandwich and asked for extra meat. The lady who took my order also made my sandwiches. She told me that she usually charges an extra $ 1 per sandwich for extra meat but she was nice enough to charge me .50 each for extra meat.
I go home all happy because I am gonna eat chicken. My life revolves around chicken but then I noticed that she was extremely stingy and gave me less meat for both of my sandwich. The portion was lesser than the normal portion they usually give me. How shady!
Shady stingy lady. Shame on her. That was not a fulfilling sandwich at all!
I will still be coming back for my chicken sandwiches but make sure she isn’t the one making it and charging me more to get even less.

Just like my grandma used to make!
I just moved back into the area since I was 12 and I can’t be happier to have found a really inexpensive restaurant I can frequent that has parking. AND it’s next door to a really great Asian grocery store!
The food is so good and clean! The flavors are exactly right and pretty much just like all the home-​cooked meals I had growing up. Cambodian Chinese people are rare in these parts. You’re more likely to find our people and our food in a heavier concentration in Long Beach.
I am a regular here now whether it’s to pick up lunch for work or to grab a quick $ 3 banh mi sandwich or have a sit-​down meal. If you’re really adventurous, try the fried pork bung with liver and pork blood noodle soup. It’s hearty and delicious!

Delicious homemade food, awesome prices, so comforting, I’ll definitely come back if i’m in the area.
My bf was feeling sick and I ordered him a wonton noodle soup $ 7.50? Super huge portion and the bone broth was to die for.
I ordered the porkchop rice plate, only wish that they gave more meat and less rice. However, the order also came with its own order of soup broth on the side, so I was a happy camper.
1 hour free parking with validation in lot :)
Cash only!

$ 3 sandwiches — can’t get better than this! My favorite, or the only one I’ve tried, is #8 (charbroiled pork). They use this unique sauce on the pork that isn’t the same as a Vietnamese sandwich (banh mi). The sauce is used a lot in Cambodian dishes so I love it!
The Cambodian/​Chinese owners are really nice! They also offer traditional Cambodian food (soup, panfry noodles, mango salad, etc) for affordable prices. Below is a picture of their dry Phnom Penh noodle :)
Parking is free with validation.

My first experience here wasn’t ideal. My bf got a pork plate and I ordered Hainan Chicken.
The Hainan Chicken only had 6 pieces that with meager amount of meats on it, over a large bed of rice. It wasn’t worth $ 7 – 8. The pork plate was dry. I usually drop by to buy their $ 3 prepped rice plates and those are always good and consistent.
Recent visits: I got my regular $ 3 prepped noodle plate because that is never disappointing. My bf asked for recommendations (which was a great idea) and they suggested a beef plate.
The beef plate came with a side of beef soup– which I love. The meat is usually fall off the bone. The beef on the plate was very tasteful and came with a side of pepper sauce that made the whole meal perfect. It was about $ 8 – 9 and now, our regular order. The staff are very friendly and usually compliments us– she earns the extra tip hahahh

Had the duck soup with egg noodles. This was really good! Very much a phở (anise) type flavor, really balanced. The only negative I had was that the duck was served with the bones included — but the duck meat was excellent!
Three people managed to eat for less than $ 40, and we were all stuffed. We’ll definitely be coming back again.

How have I not known about this place? I go to church in Chinatown and a few people in our group wanted Vietnamese sandwiches. They mentioned this place. I didn’t order a sandwich but ordered the ginger chicken. It was nothing short of amazing, and the owner even brought me a free bowl of oxtail soup to go with it! Soooo good, that I totally cleaned the plate. The service was really great too! They also serve Homemade Thai iced tea which which is a must try instead of the typical tap cup of water that most places give with your meal. If you are looking for a good, family owned hole in the wall place to try, I can’t recommend this place enough: D I’ll definitely be a regular here now.

Food is not good, but the service is, and the prices are cheap. 2.5 stars cause of the service.
Wanted some hainan chicken and saw this joint had great reviews and they were chinese/​vietnamese/​cambodian, awesome!
Got to this small hole-​in-​the-​wall right next to Ai Hua Market at noon. They have a few tables and premade food on the register counter, pretty cool. My dad ran into someone he knows who works there (happens at every cambodian establishment we go to), so I dont know if thats why we got good service but the waitresses seemed to treat others just as nicely.
Egg rolls — 4 for $ 2, cant beat that price. Too bad they werent very good, crispy still, but cold and… old? Theyre all premade egg rolls chillin in the warmer thingie on the counter, i dont mind that, they just werent good.
Leek cakes — three for $ 2 i think? These were ok: crispy, hot, and stuffed with leeks.
Hainan chicken — i shoulda trusted my gut and ordered noodle soup, cause this was not good at all. I was afraid the sauce might not be good, cause so many places make it differently, but the sauce was ok. The rice sucked, cold and tasted… odd. various pieces of chicken, little rubbery but still edible and tasted like disappointment.
Bbq pork banh mi $ 3 — not a lemongrass fan and i think there was some in this, so i cant be unbiased in this regard. Bread was soft though and sandwich was a good size, not the thin little baguettes. Veggies were kinda meh too though.
Iced tea was refreshing.
All that for $ 15.75, cant beat the price but unfortunately the food quality isnt there. Chinatown is a shell of its… former shell i guess, cause im not sure if they ever had great food here. I used to eat around here as a kid since i lived here and i enjoyed it, but not so much anymore. Gigos café across the street is a good phở spot though, give them props.
If youre visiting los angeles and want better asian food, goto the real chinatown, which is SGV. You most likely wont get good service though, but chinese food and bad service go hand-​in-​hand.

I ordered take out for this place so I can only rate this place based on food.
This place has really really good legit Phnom Penh noodles. I used to go to long beach for it, but not anymore! Price was reasonable and portion was more than enough for me. The soup that came with it was also savory. Will def keep on ordering take out from here.

Golden Lake Eatery is a hidden Vietnamese spot in Chinatown! I went there and got the best service from the owner, a nice lady. She suggested the excellent marinated beef on skewers. They tasted of lemongrass and she gave us beef and bone soup, and special hainan chicken rice w it. Mr brother and girlfriend ordered three $ 3 banh mi Vietnamese sandwiches to go! One was a charbroiled beef, another veggie, and one w traditional «meat loaf» I believe.
My brother also ordered a dessert che drink which was in their refrigerator. Seriously, must go back for the beef stew. But this is one of those places that I want to go back because the owner’s service was so kind and attentive. Also, it’s a little off the beaten path, so it could really use some Unilocal awareness!!!
It’s adjacent to a Vietnamese Chinese grocery store, so you can kill two birds w one stone by going to Golden Lake Eatery!

Pooor service. I’m from Florida visiting. I notice there are regulars who they attend to first because they speak to each other in Cambodian/​Chinese and I understand it. Limited seating and i had to tell them when a customer left so I can claim the table. I admit, number 16 dish was goood. Dried mix noodle combo with soup on the side. Also you have to pay with cash and you have to pay for parking. But service like that, i’ll go hunt down for another tasty khmer restaurant i hear about. She forgot to serve me a simple glass of water. She was more concern ordering for people who want take outs, servicing white people who walk in behind me? Favoritism. Feels like the restaurant in St. Pete, fl called La Vietnamese downtown. Pain in the butt.

I have zero knowledge about Cambodian food so I’m not sure what it’s supposed to take like. My friends and I came here on a Sunday night however to give this place a try.
The menu here is huge. We spent a good long while trying to decide what we wanted to eat. After we were done with that we placed our orders. Most of us ordered their famous dish which was the Beef Lok Lak. I ordered the pork chops with rice, and Matt P ordered frogs legs.
In addition to that we ordered some pork sticks and an iced tea. The iced tea looked like Thai Iced Tea but tasted a bit different. The pork sticks they had were pretty good.
In regards to my pork chops with rice… that was good too. The pork chops were just a tiny bit spicy but delicious. Most of our dishes came with a bowl of pork broth which was pretty good too if not a bit sweet.
Their fried rice that came with the beef lok lak was okay. I would not order that again, nor would I order the iced tea. But, this is a pretty good spot to eat at. They have a few tables in the restaurant but it’s not a huge place.
Also this place is cash only. Most people who came in ordered their food ahead of time and took it to go. They also had cheap banh mi’s for sale but I didn’t’ get to order one of those.
Parking here is free. They share a parking lot with a supermarket. There is supposed to be a ticket they give you when you park here, but no one was working the day we were there. I would eat here again.

Eight of us from
and
hit this restaurant today. They aren’t really geared up for big groups. We were a group of eight so not too big. They were out of several of their dishes on their menu but at least our server knew what was and was not available.
All the food was tasty and I liked the fried pork chop and the beef tendon noodle soup
quite a lot as well as the fried dumplings which was filled with greens and had a dipping sauce. They also gave up a thin broth beef knuckle soup
. The gai lan was young tender and delicious and expertly executed the cooking… a nice crispy texture… not boiled to death and plenty of oyster sauce on it
.
They comped us some plain Thai ice tea… no sugar or condensed milk and it was really good!
Service was spotty as none of them really spoke enough english so they didn’t really understand our requests for bowls, sauces, utensils, etc. so I have to deduct one star for that. But they were very nice and did the best they could.
The resto is hard to find as you won’t see it from College St, but it is next door to Ai Hoa Supermarket entering from the parking lot entrance on College. Ai Hoa ‘s address is on Hill St to further confuse things.
They also sell bahn mi’s but we were here to sample the Cambodian dishes as it is so rare to find Cambodian cuisine in L.A. Very cheap… $under $ 10 pp for lunch including tax and tip!
Would I recommend this place? Yes. We will definitely return as there’s many dishes we want to try!