TongTong Bok Os Stes Papaya Salad, a very funny name, if you understand the Khmer language, literally means “ TongTong (the owner) smashes very hard! ”. It is a name that makes locals laugh when we hear it. I still laugh at it after hearing it tons of times, in fact, I am currently smiling while writing about this.

I was greeted by the very friendly owner, he walked us to our table. Along the way, I noticed a small band space outside, decorated in a vintage style with pictures of Cambodia’s famous singers back in the 1960s, right before Khmer Rouge. When I went into their indoor space, I felt like I had time-traveled back to the 60s to radios, kerosene lamps, and flower-printed tile tables. 

When exploring the place, it felt like I was on a long getaway motorbike ride through nature because of a black Vespa and a handsome big black roadster motorbike placed to decorate, sided with flowers, plants, brown-colored sofas, giving off so much rider vibes. 

We ate lots of food, my top 3 favorites are the Special set of Papaya Salad (with seafood), Steamed Snails, and Spicy Grilled Shrimp. I LOVE the Spicy Grilled Shrimp the most! It was a bit overcooked, the meat was just a slightly drier than it should be, but definitely a reorder! The other seafood, veggies, and other ingredients were still very fresh despite us not eating them immediately because we took our time to take pictures for our media’s feed, maybe too much time, but who doesn’t, right?! 

After digging in, we had Blue Margarita put in Khmer's traditional silver basin topped off with thin slices of lime and some salt. Just good old ocean Blue Margarita and late-afternoon sunshine would have been nicer if the day was a bit breezier though. 

Overall, I think it is a fairly great place for you to visit if you are indecisive about what to eat since they have a very big menu. The prices are also reasonable compared to other restaurants! I am rating this restaurant a 4 out of 5!

For more insight or promotional updates, visit their Facebook page, តុងតុង បុកអស់ស្ទះ 2.