Mahob by Amok restaurant review 2023: Kara Monssen visits Riversdale Hotel hidden gem

One of the city’s hottest new restaurants is hidden in a Hawthorn East pub behind an unassuming door near the men’s loos.

Hidden gem? Mahob by Amok is sticking around at the Riversdale Hotel until the end of the year.

‘Hidden gem’ is an overused term in restaurant land yet the perfect descriptor of Mahob by Amok.

You’ll find it in a suburban pub behind an unassuming door* near the men’s loos.

There’s no need to sink schooners and have a punt under the gaming room glow, when just metres away lies a portal to another world filled with delicious smells and seriously good Cambodian food. *Ok, you can enter from the street, but we love a dramatic entrance.

The South-East Asian cuisine is hard to come by in Melbourne, let alone modern takes.

So when you hear about a talented chef riffing on food from his motherland at a Hawthorn East pub, you pay attention.

Woody Chet and his work-life partner Thida Penh have been running the operation out of the Riversdale Hotel since last October.

Grilled sihanouk ville squid. Picture: Valeriu Campan.

Crispy Cambodian fried chicken ribs. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The pub asked them to run a short-term pop-up around the same time the Covid curse forced them to close their beloved Windsor restaurant, Amok, after seven years.

Mahob’s fit-out is modern and understatedly simple: all white walls and dark timber tables and grey-pattered carpet. There’s warmth, carried through Chet’s cooking and Mahob’s service.

While this place doesn’t feel like a pub, I’m still surprised after taking my first bite.

This is good, almost too good. A powerforce of flavour and texture, a love letter to Cambodia, with Chet’s clever spins on tradition.

Take those oysters ($4.80 each) at once rich and fresh, equally countered by a slick of black truffle, kick of native kampot pepper and bursting with tapioca pearls. Kooky, but it works.

Chet riffs on Cambodia’s stuffed pumpkin blossom obsession with his fried zucchini flowers ($12), teamed with a mixed bag of flavours and textures that surprisingly stick the landing.

Grilled pork belly & crispy school prawn. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Crispy zucchini flower. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Ricotta and toasted peanuts? Poppin’ pomegranate, pomelo citrus and honey yoghurt? And a golden outer coat packs some serious crunch? Try it and believe the hype.

Those chicken ribs ($22), marinated in Khmer kroeung (yellow curry paste) are succulent and share that earth-shattering bite.

Both the grilled squid and pork mince ($24), and school prawn and pork belly salad ($24) sit on a similar salty, sweet and sour spectrum, but add welcome lightness to our spread.

Cambodia’s national dish, seafood amok, ($38) is an ode to tradition. A creamy tomato-based curry no spicier than a butter chicken, is all-encompassing and home to incredibly fresh barramundi and prawns. While the tiger prawn kari ($28), made with red kroeung sauce, packs more pepper punch and a smattering of fried basil.

Cambodian tiger king prawn kari. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Mahob’s only downfall is its wine list, which is jarringly stuck in pub land thanks to a liquor licensing arrangement. It’d be nice to see an improve for the next six months, or even a BYO option, but it’s not a deal-breaker when the food is this good. Beers and classic cocktails can happily play second fiddle.

Mahob was meant to only last six months in the space, but due to overwhelming demand, the team last week revealed it would stick around until the year’s out.

Which really is, a blessing for all.