Organization

Mawn

Mawn is a Cambodian and Southeast Asian BYOB restaurant on South 9th Street in Philadelphia. Phila and Rachel Lorn opened it in 2023.[1][2] Its name means "chicken" in Khmer. For the Lorn family the chicken is a symbol of peacetime, and the name carries that history.[3] Phila Lorn, a first-generation Cambodian American chef, won the 2025 James Beard Award for Emerging Chef.[2]

Overhead view of a grilled fish with chilli and herbs, crab fried rice, fried chicken with basil, soup and an orange iced drink.
Grilled whole fish and other dishes at Mawn, Philadelphia.

History

Mawn is the first restaurant of the couple, both restaurant veterans, and grew out of their long-held dream of running a place of their own.[3] It opened in 2023 in the former Kalaya space in the Bella Vista neighborhood, near the Italian Market.[4][2] The restaurant calls itself a noodle house "with no rules."[3] Rachel Lorn runs the front of the house.[2] The couple later opened a second restaurant, Sao, at 1710 East Passyunk Avenue.[5][1]

Food

Phila Lorn draws on his roots in a menu of Cambodian food and dishes from across Southeast Asia, with Thai and Vietnamese influences.[2][3] The Khmer-rooted dishes include beef noodle katiew; wild boar prahok (ប្រហុក), a savory dip served with fresh vegetables; steak with prahok, a sliced 20-ounce ribeye topped with Cambodian chimichurri; and the banh chow salad, built on a crispy coconut-scallion crepe and dressed with "Sunday fish sauce."[2][1][4] The khao soi is a northern Thai curry with braised chicken, chili jam, pickled greens, and both crunchy and tender noodles from Neighborhood Ramen.[4] Thai crab fried rice is also on the menu.[4]

White bowl of clams in a light broth with sliced chilli and herbs on a dark wooden table.
Clams in broth with herbs.

Seafood runs through the menu. There are oysters with rau răm and Cambodian black pepper mignonette, head-on soft-shell shrimp glazed with fish sauce caramel, whole fish in hot ginger-scallion oil and, as a special, prawn crudo in chili oil.[1][4] The papaya salad mixes papaya with tamarind, Thai chili, dried shrimp, peanuts, Thai basil, mint and cilantro, and there are Burmese salads.[4][1] Desserts include funnel cake with miso caramel and jasmine rice pudding with mango-infused whipped cream. Nonalcoholic drinks include coconut and a sweetened iced coffee with green cardamom.[2] Vegetarian and vegan choices include yellow curry noodle soup with tofu and Burmese melon salad.[5]

Recognition

  • 2025 James Beard Award for Emerging Chef, Phila Lorn[2]
  • OpenTable Icons, 2025 and 2026[6]
  • No. 46 on Yelp's Top 100 US Restaurants, 2026
  • Banh chow salad named among The New York Times' 23 best dishes in America
  • Top honors at the Tasties, a Philadelphia culinary awards show[1]

The restaurant also states that The New York Times named it among the 50 best restaurants in America.[5]

Visiting

Mawn has 28 seats at about ten candlelit tables, with the kitchen open to the dining room.[5][4][2] Guests bring their own alcohol. Dinner is by reservation through OpenTable. Tables take parties of up to seven.[5][7] Lunch is walk-in only. There is no takeout and no phone; the restaurant answers by email or Instagram message.[5]

See also

References 7
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mawn (October 2024)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Condé Nast Traveler, Mawn review (September 2025)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Mawn, About us
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 The Infatuation, Mawn review (March 2023)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Mawn, FAQs
  6. ↑ OpenTable, Mawn
  7. ↑ Mawn, home page

Sources

Retrieved from "https://khmerconnection.com/w/index.php?title=Mawn&oldid=16334"

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This page was last edited on 27 October 2026, at 04:40.