Taste of Cambodia Town

Food

Exploring the Long Beach neighborhood

Gab Chabrán covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.

Published September 27, 2024 5:00 AM

A man with a medium-dark skin tone squeezes a lime over a white bowl of soup topped with white bean sprouts and crushed peanuts. Only the bottom part of his face is visible. He is holding a clear blue plastic water cup next to the bowl, and next to the bowl is a golden yellow piece of fried bread.

Beef Stew Noodle from Phnom Penh Noodle Shack in Cambodia Town in Long Beach.

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Julie Leopo

for LAist

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Topline:

Long Beach houses the largest population of Cambodians outside of the country, with Cambodia Town the location of some great restaurants. LAist food editor Gab Chabrán met up with James Tir, a Cambodian American food influencer, to learn more about the cuisine.

What’s on the menu? Charred fragrant beef sticks, Texas meets Cambodian BBQ, smooth and creamy noodles, a very bitter green and whole fried yellow catfish, to name a few.

How is it different to other South Asian cuisines? “It’s less about balance and subtlety and more about enjoying a broad range of experiences in one sitting, unabashedly playing with bitter and acrid flavors," Tir says.

I’ve lived in Long Beach for almost seven years. While I’ve eaten my way through many of the city’s food offerings, I’ve only made it to Cambodia Town's restaurants a handful of times.

Part of that was because it wasn’t something I knew much about. What should I order? How is it different from other Southeast Asian cuisines, like Vietnamese or Thai?

Unconsciously, I think I was holding out for a chance to experience the food firsthand from someone who understood its culture and origins.

So when James Tir, an Instagram food influencer, aka Long Beach Food Coma (LBFoodComa), reached out to ask if I wanted to take a tasting tour of Cambodia Town restaurants, I immediately said yes.

From left, LAist Food Editor Gab Chabrán and James Tir, food influencer known as LB Food Coma, share a meal at Monorom in Long Beach

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Julie Leopo

LAist

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Tir is Cambodian-American and grew up in Long Beach. He regularly covers a variety of food in the city and has the knowledge of Khmer cuisine I was looking for. He seemed the perfect guide.

When we met, he explained that Long Beach became a landing spot for Cambodians in the 1970s and 1980s after the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror. And, like many immigrants, they brought their traditional cuisine with them.

Cambodian cooking is influenced by rice fields, tropical jungles, and the Mekong River, using ingredients such as lemongrass, tamarind, and prahok (fermented mudfish).

Most people’s reference point for Southeast Asian cuisine is Thai or Vietnamese food, but Tir says Cambodian cuisine is distinctive.

“Its flavor profiles are less about balance and subtlety and more about enjoying a broad range of experiences in one sitting,” he says. “It unabashedly plays with bitter and acrid flavors and harmonizes with, rather than hides the intensity of, those dishes.”

With that quick education, we were on our way.

About Cambodia Town

Cambodia Town is a 1.2-mile stretch along Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero Avenues.
It’s home to the largest Khmer (also known as Cambodian; the two terms can be used interchangeably) population in the U.S.
Many Cambodians arrived in Long Beach as refugees in 1980s after the overthrow of the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime.

Battambong BBQ (Smoked Twako)

A close-up of a giant smoker painted black with both doors open. At the back you can see a glimpse of a man with a medium-dark skin tone, wearing a pale yellow cowboy hat and square sunglasses, tending to the two shelves of smoked meats on their own and in large aluminum trays.

James:

It’s hard to talk about Cambodian-American cuisine without mentioning Chad “The Cambodian Cowboy” Phuong’s take on Cambodian-Texan fusion.

His hardened journey from the war-torn countryside of Cambodia to the panhandle of Texas to the streets of Long Beach has instilled a uniquely Khmer twang to the smoke-encrusted meats of Texan-style barbecue. His brisket is kissed by the heat of Kampot black pepper (a sharper sting compared to the more citrussy ubiquitous Tellicherry); his pork belly is lacquered in a soy sauce, scorched sugar, ginger, and star anise-tinged dance on your tongue, and his twako is the showstopper.

The twako is a Khmer descent sausage comprising ground beef, galangal, and rice. The galangal effuses a depth that’s more floral than its cousin, ginger, whilst the rice ferments the sausage, adding a nice acidic bite to the affair.

The casing has a snap, but its contents spill from the tiniest toothy massage. Traditionally grilled, Phuong tosses them into a smoker adding an extra layer to the complex sausage.

An overhead view of a brown paper tray with checkered black and white paper on top. The tray is filled with various types of cooked meats and is placed against an unfinished wood surface. On the left side, there are two separate rectangular paper containers holding different kinds of vegetables.

Gab:

I’d actually sampled Battambong BBQ before our tour. Phuong has staged several pop-ups all over Long Beach since 2022 and can also be found at Smorgasburg, LA, every Sunday.

While we were there specifically to try the twako, Phuong didn’t miss miss an opportunity to showcase his battalion of ‘cue consisting of beef sausage, brisket, and tri-tip. The pork belly ends stood out for me; small rectangular cubes of pork belly with a sweetly coated caramelized outside and a succulent inside.

I inhaled the twako, though. It contained earthy umami notes, similar to hearty mushrooms, recalling morcilla (Spanish blood sausage) but with more sweetness. The addition of smoke catapulted the sausage to the next level entirely.

Location and Hours: Check Instagram

Phnom Penh Noodle Shack (Beef Stew Noodles)

James:

Sitting on the northwest border of Cambodia Town is the tiny but mighty Phnom Penh Noodle Shack. Opening in 1985, it was the first Cambodian restaurant in the region, serving up piping hot bowls of noodles to the Khmer community. The eponymous shack is famous for one thing: Phnom Penh noodles, a regionally distinct rice noodle dish that is a close cousin of Vietnam’s phở.

However spectacular that dish may be, the beef stew noodles (khor ko) might be my personal favorite. It has colonial French roots, drawing inspiration from beef bourguignon, but is punctuated by the flavors of lemongrass, star anise, and fish sauce, neatly commingling with the acidity of tomato paste. This collagen-thickened broth suspends tender chunks of tripe, tendon, and braised beef between delicate strands of rice noodles.

When paired with cha quai, a crispy, broth-sopping length of deep-fried bread, the dish is elevated to another level of satisfaction.

The interior of a small dining room inside a restaurant overlooks a larger dining area. Various groups are seated at tables of different sizes, enjoying their meals and engaging in conversation. The patrons have diverse skin tones and represent different genders. A woman with black hair and attire is sitting between both rooms and inputting an order into a computer. Framed artwork adorns the walls in both dining areas.

Gab:

James really took me to school with this dish. I thought it would be similar to Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but this was not that. It was a large bowl of deep red broth filled with rice noodles and tripe. At this point, James looked up from the bowl with a soft smile and said, “It’s like menudo.”

James, of course, was right on the money with his Mexican soup reference. The thick cuts of tripe and chunks of beef sop up the tangy, starchy taste of the rice noodles, and the collagen from the tendon adds to the soup's viscosity, delivering spoonful after spoonful of hearty comfort. The result tastes and feels like it has exceptional therapeutic properties — perfect for curing a hangover.

Location: 1644 Cherry Ave., Long Beach
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Pho Hong Phat (Banh Sung)

James:

Pho Hong Phat is a Cambodian-owned phở restaurant serving some of the best Vietnamese noodles in the city. What betrays the facade of the primarily Vietnamese menu is the “not pho” section, which includes Phnom Penh noodle soup, Hainan chicken rice, and banh sung.

Banh sung is the Cambodian cousin of the Vietnamese bún chả giò, both of which are a vermicelli noodle salad with fried egg rolls. The aforementioned shares a bowl with leafy greens, a wealth of herbs, shredded carrots, and grilled marinated pork, resulting in a salad that involves a carousel of textures.

Like the bún chả giò, it’s served with sweet fish sauce, chili sauce, and crushed peanuts. Unlike bún chả giò, the Khmer variant also incorporates more than a splash of coconut milk steeped with chopped green onion. The last ingredient mellows out the intensity of the fish sauce, creating an experience that coats the palate with a bright umami.

A large white bowl is placed on a dark grey surface. Inside the bowl, there are cooked thin white noodles topped with two fried egg rolls cut into three pieces each, cooked brown meat, and sliced green onions. Next to the bowl, in the bottom right corner, is a small bowl containing opaque white liquid. In the upper right corner is a small container with a metal spout and a printed black-and-white label that reads "peanuts."

Gab:

I’ve eaten at Pho Hong Phat a few times, but I’ve inhaled the sweet smell of the pho broth simmering in the kitchen far more often.

That’s because they open at 8 a.m. for folks looking for hot breakfast soup. When I stop for coffee at the cafe across the street, Good Time, (a local favorite amongst locals, including myself and James), I often get an enticing whiff of the day’s cooking wafting over.

I had only eaten pho during my previous visits, but James opened my eyes to the “not pho” section featuring Khmer options. Adding the pleasant flavors of coconut milk brought a new depth to the cold rice noodle dish. The smooth texture and creaminess provided a nice balance with a mix of greens, peanuts, and sliced bits of eggroll, which are always a winner.

The exterior of a small, two-story corner restaurant is painted grey. It has white signage with red lettering that reads "Pho Hong Phat Restaurant." There is a light green pillar next to the glass door entrance, leading from the sidewalk. A row of parked cars is next to the sidewalk, and there is a person standing next to the car closest to the corner.

Location: 3243 E Anaheim St, Long Beach
Hours: Monday through Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Wednesday

A & J Seafood Shack (Lemongrass Beefsticks)

James:

At one point in my life, I worked many years both front and back of the house at Hak Heang, a banquet-style Cambodian-Chinese seafood joint in Long Beach that served as a hub for the Khmer community since the early 90s. Be it weddings or graduation parties, it was a special occasion spot, where you’d get wok-fired lobster or crab that’s been tossed in a medley of jalapeño heat and MSG to flex your wealth while downing generous shots of Hennessy cognac.

A & J takes this concept and serves these revered dishes (sans cognac, as far as I know) out of takeout boxes — allowing you to enjoy these special occasion experiences in a more casual context.

Though a seafood joint serving some Viet-Cajun boils, they are Khmer through and through, embedding both lemongrass beef sticks and twako on their seafood-studded roll call.

The beef sticks, in particular, are an item found on most Khmer menus. The beef is marinated in kroueng, a mortar-and-pestle bashed paste of lemongrass, turmeric, galangal, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and chilies that’s pervasive throughout the cuisine. It’s then skewered on bamboo sticks and cooked over an open flame. The outcome is a supple treat that is crispy from the char of the grill.

It’s hard to beat the time-tested formula of meat on a stick.

A small outdoor shack is situated on a street corner. It is painted brown with red metal stools and tall, thin tables outside. A medium-sized palm tree is next to the sidewalk in the left corner. Two people are standing at the window where you can place an order. Above them is a blue awning affixed to the takeout window, with a printed sign that reads "A & J Seafood Shack." The sign features a red cartoon lobster and color photos of different food dishes.

The exterior of A&J Seafood Shack in Long Beach.

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Julie Leopo

LAist

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A clear plastic to-go container with its lid open is on a light grey concrete surface. The container is filled with cooked white rice topped with three skewers of brown meat covered with green cilantro leaves. In the right corner is a small portion of shredded white and orange vegetables.

The Beef Stick Rice dish from A&J Seafood Shack

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Julie Leopo

LAist

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Gab:

I featured A&J in my Cheap Fast Eats Long Beach edition. It’s a great option for their Cambodian dishes and various pan-Asian-inspired dishes, including their garlic shrimp plates, which take nods from shrimp trucks from the North Shore area of Oahu.

In my previous visits, I’ve opted for the beef stick sandwich, made with a demi baguette-style roll (similar to Viet Bahn mi or Khmer num pang) containing two beef sticks, green pickled papaya slaw, and Sriracha mayo. Per James's recommendation, we had the beef sticks on their own over a bed of rice and a side of slaw.

The ultra-savory flavors of the aromatic beef, mixed with the light char and forkfuls of jasmine rice, make for a great light meal.

Location: 3201 E Anaheim St., Long Beach
Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Monorom Cambodian Restaurant (Prahok Ktis)

James:

Monorom, like A & J, also has a fantastic lemongrass beef stick. But they also have a catalog of traditional eats such as the prahok ktis (or prahok creme as they have it labeled on their menu).

One of the most common ways food is consumed in Cambodia is to have an assortment of in-season vegetables and a dip, precisely what you’d get with prahok ktis.

It’s ground pork married with the pungency of prahok paste, the omnipresent fermented mudfish product, and the creaminess of coconut milk. The prahok ktis are presented with a shallow basket carrying thin cross sections of raw Chinese eggplant, Thai eggplant, cucumber, yardlong beans, and cabbage.

The interior of Monorom

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Julie Leopo

LAist

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A plate with a white to-go wrapper contains two rows of uncooked Chinese eggplant and cucumber alongside a thick wedge of lemon and long green beans. Additionally, there are wedges of green cabbage and two red and green Thai chiles. In the foreground, on the right side, is a medium-sized ceramic bowl containing thick red liquid with thinly sliced red bell pepper and thinly cut-up green herbs added.

The Prahok ktis dish from Monorom

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Julie Leopo

LAist

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Gab:

During my previous food tour of Little Arabia with my colleague Yusra Farzan, there were a couple of moments when I entered small family-owned restaurant spaces and felt as if I were inside their living room.

Monorom carries a similar vibe with its seating setup. During our stop there, a multigenerational family was enjoying a meal together, adding to the personal nature of the atmosphere.

The extensive menu felt overwhelming. Luckily, we already had a plan to start with the prahok ktis.

The cut-up raw vegetables come with a side of the reddish-orange prahok paste containing loose bits of ground pork, which makes for an excellent dip. It made me think of that Northern Thai dish, nam phrig noom (a roasted green chili dip) served with crispy frieded pork skins, which is go-to order of mine and my family at Renu Narkron in nearby Norwalk.

Location: 2150 E Anaheim St., Long Beach
Hours: Monday through Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed Wednesday.

Crystal Thai Cambodian (Trei Aundain Chean)

The small restaurant's dining area was filled with green vinyl booths, with small groups seated at them. A row of long tables and wooden chairs were in the empty room. The walls were painted bright orange, and modern blue light fixtures hung over each booth. In the background, a small counter space with a slight overhang built around it is painted purple on the outside. Various plants were placed throughout the restaurant, and framed artwork adorned the walls.

James:

Much more Khmer than Thai, Crystal Thai Cambodian is the quintessential spot for experiencing a traditional Cambodian meal — things you’d find in a Khmer home, where parents and grandparents have preserved culinary memories of a pre-genocide Cambodia.

Their menu is a voluminous encyclopedia of the Khmer greatest hits, ranging from the backyard party noodle nom p’jok (a thick rice vermicelli noodle dish that’s beset by a turmeric-stained catfish broth) to duck feet salad (a mélange of saccharine-vinegar slaw dotted with the cartilaginous webbed feet of waterfowl).

When I’m looking to impress the adventurous, I always order the trei aundain chean, which translates to whole fried yellow catfish. The catfish arrives at the table with a bouquet of greens, including slivers of green leaf lettuce, Vietnamese coriander, fish mint, bean sprouts, cucumber, and branches of sadao—the latter of which are the flower buds of the neem tree. Imagine the pithy florets of broccoli but with a medicinally astringent flavor. It’s bitter. Incredibly so.

You begin this meal by tearing into the catfish, peeling away the chicharrón crispy skin, and revealing a brilliant yellow flesh. The flesh is flaky, moist, and surprisingly clean-tasting despite the jaundiced pallor — not fishy. Then, you nest the contents into a leaf of lettuce, stack the herbs high, and roll yourself a wrap.

The wrap is accompanied by a sour and sweet tamarind sauce and green mango salad, creating a Russian doll-like flavor experience of slowly unveiling the entire roster of taste with each bite.

A light-skinned hand holds a white soup spoon as it dips into a small white bowl containing a thick, dark brown sauce with chopped bits of green onion. Next is a bowl of chopped vegetables and fruit, resembling a slaw or a salad. Above the bowls is a fried yellow catfish scored throughout its body. There are various green vegetables and herbs on a separate plate above the fish, including Romaine lettuce leaves and cucumbers. Behind the hand holding the spoon is a partially shown bowl of cooked white rice.

Gab:

I had heard tales of Crystal Thai and its bodacious bowls of nom p’jok, the yellow curry dish, for a while now. But James was down to explore the menu a little more.

I can’t remember the last time I had a whole catfish (maybe never, filets, sure). Arriving at your table the fish has been scored and deep-fried, along with a separate plate of greens. The sadao was the standout, given its striking appearance resembling wild baby broccoli. I assembled the the D.I.Y. lettuce wraps with torn chunks of the fish mixed with tamarind sauce and mango salad. It all paired together. Nothing short of memorable.

Location: 1165 E 10th St, Long Beach
Hours: Open daily, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Note: Cash Only

Housing & Homelessness

Public housing waitlists

How to sign up for LA County public housing

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.

Published August 17, 2026 7:00 PM

A three story apartment building is painted in blue and white.

Marina Manor in Marina del Rey is a public housing property with 183 units reserved for seniors.

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Courtesy Los Angeles County Development Authority

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Topline:

Low-income renters in Los Angeles tend to struggle to find apartments that charge no more than 30% of their income. On Monday, a rare opportunity opened up as L.A. County began accepting renters onto its public housing waitlist for the first time in nearly two-and-a-half years.

Why it matters: County officials said they’re expecting an influx of applications due to the region’s rising cost of living. Tenant advocates said securing public housing can turn people’s lives around, giving them stability and helping them save for the future.

Why now: Public housing officials said about 300 units become vacant every year, and they now need to add fresh names to the waitlist.

The backstory: LACDA oversees public housing in 68 properties for more than 6,600 residents. The agency is opening up wait list registration at only 16 of those sites.

What's next: To qualify, families must be earning significantly less than the median income in L.A. County. There are different tiers, LACDA’s chief of programs said, with applicants typically needing to earn less than 50% of the area’s median income. Here’s more information about how to apply.

Read on… to learn how you can reach out for help with your application.

Most Southern California renters continue to struggle to find housing they can afford. An important — and for some, possibly life-changing — option opened up on Monday for low-income residents.

The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) began accepting applicants for its waitlist for public housing for a limited time.

Tracie Mann, the chief of programs for LACDA, said the waitlist was last open in April 2024.

“We need to refresh the list, get new families who are interested in applying, not only to our family sites, but also to our senior sites,” she said.

Mann said she expects more people to apply now because of the sharp rise in the cost of living.

“We know that housing is a serious need here within the region of Los Angeles County, and having LACDA in a position to be able to offer public housing units to those most in need is just so… critical,” she said.

The rent in these county-owned and managed units is generally capped at 30% of a household’s gross income. That limit helps families build savings, said Justin Fitzsimmons, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

“It is a really valuable resource and can be a great opportunity for people to be able to build wealth in this economy and set up their generations in the future,” he said.

A two story apartment building is seen with shrubs and grass in front of it. There's a bright red bench near a walkway.

It’s common, Fitzsimmons said, to see clients come to his office for legal help after a life event, such as an accident or major illness that has depleted their savings.

"Public housing is a really wonderful opportunity for a person to help to weather those events that life throws your way," he said.

The waitlist application window opened at 8 a.m. Monday and is set to close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16.

Here’s who qualifies and how to apply

To qualify, families must be earning significantly less than the median income in L.A. County. There are different tiers, Mann said, including 30% and 50% of that median income.

People in L.A. County will fall below the 50% threshold if they earn up to $58,300 per year. Families of four will meet the cutoff if they earn no more than $83,300 per year.

Follow this link for more information about how to apply. If you’ve already registered with LACDA, you can apply at this link.

A three-story apartment building is seen with trees and grass in front of it.

You can seek help with your application by calling LACDA at (626) 586-1522 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

LACDA staff also helps people complete their online applications in person at their offices in Alhambra. Their address is 700 W. Main St., Alhambra.

Location, location, location

LACDA oversees public housing on 68 properties for more than 6,600 residents. The agency is opening up wait list registration at only 16 of those sites. Thinking about which location to apply to is important because if you apply to a location and you don’t accept the unit that you’re offered, you will be removed from the waiting list until it opens back up.

People leave public housing units for various reasons, Mann said, such as moving outside the county, finding another apartment or facing eviction. She said LACDA’s public housing program averages 300 vacancies per year. Wait times can be months or longer, depending on vacancies at each property.

Applications for the smaller properties will be capped at 1,000 applications, and their waitlists will close early if that threshold is reached before Sept. 16.

You can find more information about the 16 sites opening their waitlists at this link.

Sibling rivalry

The siblings have been in frequent conflict since their father’s death, with Jeanie firing Jim from his job as the Lakers’ head of basketball operations in 2017, followed a week later with a lawsuit against her brothers amid an attempt by Jim and Johnny to oust Jeanie from her role as the Lakers’ controlling owner.

Not all of the six Buss siblings — Jeanie, Jim, Johnny, Janie, Joey and Jesse — were in favor of the deal despite retaining their family trust’s minority ownership stake, and Joey and Jesse were fired from their front-office jobs with the team last November.

The siblings say they voted this month to sell their family’s remaining interest in the Lakers, but Jeanie Buss claims any vote is void. ESPN reported that Jeanie Buss was the only sibling who didn’t support the final sale.

“We have decided as a family to sell the remaining Buss Family Trust shares to the Bob Iger group as part of the ongoing transaction,” the Buss family said in a statement. “We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles, but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can.”

In his letter, Streisand said Joey and Jesse Buss have leaked information to ESPN for many years “for the malicious purpose of doing harm to the Los Angeles Lakers so long as Dr. Buss’s chosen successor, Jeanie Buss, carries out her father’s wishes.”

Jerry Buss was a chemist and real estate investor who bought the Lakers, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and the Forum arena from Jack Kent Cooke for $67.5 million. The Lakers quickly entered a renaissance in which they became known for their flashy “Showtime” style of play while winning five NBA titles between 1980 and 1988 behind Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

While the NBA and professional sports became increasingly more corporate, the Lakers remained essentially a family business despite their massive profile and steady success. Jerry Buss and the Lakers have employed many of the basketball world’s greatest players and coaches of the past five decades, and Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to five additional championships between 2000 and 2010 before LeBron James added the 17th in 2020.

The sale agreement with Kushner and Iger still must be approved by the NBA’s board of governors, and the process could take months.

Civics & Democracy

Latino voter poll

CA Republicans are losing ground with Latinos

By Payton Seda and Faheem Khan

Published August 17, 2026 2:31 PM

A sheet of voter stickers is seen inside a polling place in California.

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David McNew

Getty Images

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Topline:

Recent polling from the Latino Working Class Project found that Republican support among California Latinos has dropped, with issues like cost-of-living moving more favorably toward Democrats. Two of the researchers involved in the poll joined host Larry Mantle on AirTalk, LAist’s daily news show, to discuss the results.

Listen:

Listen 15:57

Latest CA Latino poll favors Democrats over Republicans

Cost-of-living: Latinos favored Democrats by 34% when it came to the question about who's better handling cost-of-living. “ It is the economy, cost of living and affordability that is, by a far measure, the issue driving Latino voters and Latino sentiments,” said Mike Madrid, Republican political consultant and founder of the Latino Working Class Project.

More support for Dems? No. This does not mean Latino voters are completely satisfied with how Democrats are running things in California. "They are just as unhappy with Democrats,” said David Binder, founder of David Binder Research, which helped conduct the poll.

What this means for the gubernatorial race: An overwhelming amount of Latino voters are supporting Xavier Becerra over Steve Hilton, 72% to 24%. ”If Xavier Becerra wins the election in November, it'll be incumbent upon him to prove that he is also working on behalf of Latino voters and all working class voters to help bring down costs and make things more affordable,” Binder said.

Topline:

Recent polling from the Latino Working Class Project found that Republican support among California Latinos has dropped, with issues like cost-of-living moving more favorably toward Democrats. Two of the researchers involved in the poll joined host Larry Mantle on AirTalk, LAist’s daily news show, to discuss the results.

Health

Street medicine

CalOptima expands program to four more cities

Destiny Torres covers all things SoCal, from breaking news to local government, with a focus on Orange County.

Published August 17, 2026 1:55 PM

A person wearing dark sweats and a dark sweater sleeps on a bus bench.

CalOptima Health, Orange County's public health system for low-income residents, is expanding its street medicine program to four more cities.

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Gina Ferazzi

Getty Images

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Topline:

CalOptima Health’s street medicine program is doubling its reach by expanding to four more cities — Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Westminster, officials announced Monday.

How it works: CalOptima is a public health insurance plan for low income residents in Orange County. The “doctor’s office on wheels” will bring primary health care, behavioral health services and case management to unhoused people, meeting them wherever they are. The four cities join Garden Grove, Costa Mesa, Anaheim and Santa Ana.

What’s the cost of the program? CalOptima allocated $4.3 million to get the program started. Health officials will have two years to sign up 200 patients for the program to be self-sustained through the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal, or CalAIM. The expansion comes on the heels of the agency’s Care Traffic Control Center, a collaborative hub for street medicine teams.

Officials say: “Our goal at the end of the day, really, is to help our members on their journey to permanent housing.” Yunkyung Kim, chief operating officer at CalOptima, told LAist. “It is difficult, if not impossible, to be truly healthy on the streets.”

What’s next? The street medicine services are expected to launch next year.

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The Brief

About Cambodia Town

Battambong BBQ (Smoked Twako)

Phnom Penh Noodle Shack (Beef Stew Noodles)

Pho Hong Phat (Banh Sung)

A & J Seafood Shack (Lemongrass Beefsticks)

Monorom Cambodian Restaurant (Prahok Ktis)

Crystal Thai Cambodian (Trei Aundain Chean)

Here’s who qualifies and how to apply

Location, location, location

Sibling rivalry

Keep up with LAist.