Golden Monkey Cafe is a small, cozy restaurant located at 468 Chestnut Street in Lynn. The restaurant is a testament to the consistency, resilience, and history of the food it serves and the people who prepare and present it. Decorated with soft pink pastel walls and white trim, the unpretentious cafe is neat and clean in its simplicity. Along with free parking, the eatery offers some seating both inside and outside on the porch for those who enjoy al fresco dining. Along with a printed menu, the wall display showcases a colorful selection of appetizers, soups, vegetarian dishes, rice dishes, and noodles, including boba drinks, fruit and milk teas, and smoothies. The illustrations were so appealing, promising delicious, hearty, and tasty dishes that would satisfy a hungry person.
Although some of the dishes were reminiscent of Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, this reviewer opted for the “Lort Cha” round rice noodles, a popular Cambodian street food. The noodles were served on a stylish white plate with crunchy peanuts and a sweet sauce. The “tear drop” fried noodles were flavorful, with delicately seasoned chicken (or beef or seafood if you prefer) mixed with fresh chives and bean sprouts. You can also add a fried egg. The sauces added to the authenticity of the dish, and it wasn’t the least bit oily, which is often the case with many fried dishes. To complement the meal, the cool lychee drink was not only thirst-quenching, but also sweet enough to balance the savory flavors of the noodles. The banana fritters “Jake Chean” (breaded and fried bananas, sprinkled with black sesame seeds) and the beef jerky “Sach Ko Nyet” (thinly sliced beef, seasoned and dried into chips) are popular in Singapore and worth trying again.
Co-owner Peter Toeung, born in Minnesota, moved to Lynn with his single mother in 1992. Peter was 10 years old at the time and always remembered his mother’s words: “She always told me she couldn’t give me anything other than the wisdom to work harder or get an education.”
Listening to parents’ words of wisdom from school is one thing, but following them is quite another. Peter graduated from Lynn Classical High School in 2001 and went on to earn an associate degree from North Shore Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Salem State, and studied for a master’s in higher education student affairs, also at Salem State University. After working for the TRIO/Upward Bound program at North Shore Community College for over a decade, Peter and his wife Chenda took the plunge and started the business. Chenda had no interest in driving long distances for good Cambodian food, and Peter was ready for a career change. They signed a contract for the restaurant just before the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. After a long renovation period, they opened Golden Monkey Cafe on May 1, 2022.
Lynn is the second-largest city after Lowell, with a population of 3,338 Cambodian-Americans. However, restaurants in Lynn that specialize in the particular brand of Cambodian cuisine are few and far between. The Venn diagram that connects Thai and Cambodian cuisine can make it seem as though the two are indistinguishable. Fans of the latter will argue that Cambodian cuisine contains less chili and sugar. What other distinguishing features does Cambodian cuisine have? What sets it apart from other Asian dishes, and why is it important to tell the story of Cambodian food culture? Sampan spoke with Peter Toeung, co-owner of Golden Monkey Cafe, about (among other things) the ups and downs of the local restaurant business and the unique nature of Cambodian cuisine that sets it apart from the pantheon of dynamic Asian cuisine in the Greater Boston area.
SAMPAN: What are your first memories of Cambodian food?
I remember as a child trying to fit into the dominant American culture, asking my mother to pack me sandwiches and chips for school lunches, and eating in the corner of the cafeteria, hoping others didn’t smell the fish sauce or other fragrant smells of her cooking. I soon learned to appreciate unique flavors that set us apart from what others had. I remember secretly getting packets of ramen and sharing them with non-Cambodians on the bus ride to school as if they were a bag of chips, dipping the crunchy, dry, uncooked ramen into the salty soup mix that came in the packet. That’s when I learned that the food I grew up eating was also enjoyed by others.
“Lok Lak” was my first favorite dish that my mother always made. “Cha Kanye” (fried beef with ginger) and a ramen that we now call “Kay Madai,” which means “mother’s inheritance,” are dishes that were among my favorites as a child and are also popular in the store today.
SAMPAN: Your restaurant is run by three generations. Your mother-in-law works in the kitchen with your wife and your young children are also active in the restaurant. What have you all learned through your work about the complexity of Cambodian cuisine and its profound influence on Vietnamese and Thai cuisine (among others)?
You can drive through a central business district and find a few burger or pizza joints, but no one expects every sandwich or pizza to taste the same. Also, assuming that Thai, Vietnamese, Laotian or other Southeast Asian dishes fit into one box is not very open-minded. We truly believe that your taste buds will be happier and more satisfied if you eat culturally diverse foods.
What makes Cambodian food in America so complex can have many factors. One reason for immigrant communities in the food space is also that you work with what you have. The spices and produce are imported, so the availability of certain ingredients can be limited. This can make it difficult in the kitchen to prepare traditional dishes with some substitute ingredients. For example, many have asked us if we use fresh durian for our durian smoothies. Although the strong and uniquely scented fruit is delicious, it is not as easy to get here in America as an apple, which you can find in any grocery store. A second factor is that family recipes are different; recipes from different villages and different regions of Cambodia are different. We cannot expect one to be the same as the other. This makes every cuisine different. Americans may have eaten Thai or Vietnamese food, and mixing the flavors of Cambodia adds to the rich diversity that is America.
SAMPAN: Do you feel a responsibility to properly represent and celebrate the history of Cambodian cuisine, especially in competition with the more popular (in terms of number of restaurants) Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine? What story do you want to tell about the people of Cambodia through the food and ambience of your restaurant?
Staying true to yourself is a must. We cannot claim to be something we are not, and we should be proud of who we are. Investing energy in honoring our culture does not mean we are claiming to be better than it. We are simply asking for a seat at the table to share what we can contribute. Given the complexity of American culture and the pressures to adapt and assimilate, many communities may be losing parts of their roots or identity. Our goal is to certainly contribute what Cambodian Americans can contribute to American culture as a whole.
There are many narratives and stereotypes attributed to the Cambodian people as a community. When we focus on the negative and say Lynn is always the “city of sin,” we are undervaluing ourselves. Many Cambodians moved to America in the 80’s without knowing the language, culture, food, and restaurants. They have experienced genocide and lived lives of poverty and continue to strive for better. We would be honored if people would see the cafe.
as an expression of the resilience of the Cambodian community.
SAMPAN: What’s next for Golden Monkey Cafe? Do you think the business will expand? Do you hope your children will carry on the tradition of good food and preserving the culture?
We are beyond grateful to be part of this community and at this point we just hope we can build on what we have built. We hope to inspire others to pursue their dreams and if that comes with creating positive spaces and sharing your culture, we are all for it. When the time comes for our children to find their calling, we hope they retain as much of their identity as possible to share with the world. We hope it is not just our children who take up the torch to continue the mission of preserving and revitalizing Cambodian culture.
