Description
Chef Phila Lorn’s parents came to the United States in 1985, a year before he was born, as Cambodian refugees. Named for the city that offered his family a new life, Phila is as Philly as it gets. Growing up struggling to make ends meet and working in kitchens, Phila always thought he’d be working for someone else.
While craving his mom’s food, meeting his would-be wife Rachel at work, and growing the skillset to excise that feeling of not being good enough, an idea was born. An idea just as liberating and motivating as Phila himself was for his parents. Together, he and Rachel wanted to open their own restaurant, Mawn, and do things the way they wished they’d been done for them in the past.
The goal became to own their own time, put Phila’s Cambodian heritage on a plate, and teach their staff and their son that if you want it, you can go get it. They quickly won a James Beard award, and opened a second location, Sao.
Now running two critically-acclaimed restaurants, their goal is to stay the course. Being South Philly staples that start a legacy with no end in sight is their shot to take, and they’re going for it.
This episode is part of The Encore, a series from VICE and Toyota about Asian American culinary talent who continue to “call their shot” at their dreams amid a life of trial and error.
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