LYNN — Peter Toeung and wife, Chenda, have been running their Cambodian restaurant, the Golden Monkey Cafe, for almost two years now, sharing their culture with the city’s community in the process.

Peter said the idea came to them when Chenda mentioned how tired she was of driving to other communities to get Cambodian food.

Signing for the space two weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown began, the couple was able to take some extra time renovating, eventually opening on May 1, 2022. 

The name for the cafe came from the year their oldest daughter was born and Peter’s mother’s original last name, Meas, which means gold. 

His mother had to change her name in order to flee Cambodia during the country’s genocide in the 1970s, when it was ruled by the Khmer Rouge.

“I think the story is that she was able to obtain an identity that allowed her to flee the country sooner than she needed to. So, she was able to get here in the early ’80s. She landed in Florida, worked on an orange farm, got to Louisiana, spent a little bit of time in (Philadelphia), and then somehow one of the coldest states in America, that’s where she gave birth to me,” Peter said.

Peter was born in Minnesota and moved to Lynn with his mom in 1992.

“When my mother got to America, she was on her own. I grew up in a single-parent household and I saw her resilience,” Peter said. “She always told me she couldn’t give me anything other than the wisdom to work harder or to pursue education.”

Peter has taken his mother’s advice, getting his associate degree at North Shore Community College, his bachelor’s and master’s at Salem State University, and now, owning and operating his own business.

In celebration of the Cambodian “Khmer” New Year, Peter attended the Cambodian flag raising at City Hall on Thursday. He said he was so proud to see the city’s Cambodian population being accepted and recognized.

The new year celebration will begin on Saturday, April 13.

“It’s kind of like their Thanksgiving, Christmas, baptism, and New Year celebration all in one,” Peter said. “It happens at the end of their harvest season.”

He said the celebration is partly to give thanks to the bountiful harvest of the prior year. 

The celebration lasts three days, with the last day being the official start of the new year.

Peter said the first day is called Moha Sangkran.

“That day is like a day of spring cleaning. You’re cleaning every corner of your home, your business, your space, to invite blessings in to a clean space,” Peter said.

The second day is called Wanabot, which Peter said is the day of charity, with a focus on the elderly and less fortunate.

The final day is Leung Sakk.

“That is a day where there’s a lot of cleaning involved here too, but this is more targeted towards personal hygiene, maybe a haircut,” Peter said. “You’re cleaning your home idols and altars if you’re of the Buddhist faith.”

Peter said that he enjoys living in Lynn because of the diversity in the city, and the fact that he can celebrate his heritage and share it with others.

“With all the different ethnic cuisines in the city, I think it’s a hidden gem to be able to have different foods from all over the world,” Peter said.

In terms of Cambodian food, he said a lot of the country’s cuisine is similar to others, and he wanted to make sure that at his restaurant, people know the Cambodian names.

“People know pho, but do they know ka’thiew?…  People know pad thai, but do they know kathiew cha?” Peter said.

Although a lot Southeast Asian food is similar, Peter said the cuisines there all have their differences. He said Thai is spicier, and Vietnamese has more of a Chinese influence compared to Cambodian dishes.

“Lemongrass is one of the major ingredients in a lot of Cambodian dishes,” Peter said.

They highlight this in their lemongrass wings and lemongrass stir fry.

While Peter was discussing the joy of Cambodian cuisine and culture, Chenda was in the kitchen working on one of their most popular dishes, mekathang. This also happens to be Chenda’s favorite dish to make.

Mekathang contains pan-fried flat rice noodles blended with bok choy, carrots, mushrooms, and baby corn; with your choice of beef, chicken, or seafood.

“She gets to work in the kitchen with her mom, and that’s something that is beautiful to her,” Peter said. “It’s awesome for me to hang out and just hear them talk and joke in the back.”

Chenda and her mom are the chefs of the family, and spend the day working together.

Chenda moved to the United States from Cambodia in 2011, after meeting Peter in Cambodia and getting married in 2009. Shortly after she moved, her parents came too.

Peter said they’ve recently added a special curry to the menu exclusively on the weekend. In celebration of the new year, the cafe has plans to double the batch this coming weekend.

The Golden Monkey Cafe is open from 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. every day besides Tuesday at 468 Chestnut St.