NewsBite

Advertisement

Mahob by Amok serves top Cambodian cuisine in an unlikely setting

The room may feel like a function room on the side of a large pokies pub, but the Cambodian cooking more than makes up for it.

Besha Rodell

The Mahob by Amok pop-up restaurant inside Hawthorn’s Riversdale Hotel.
1 / 6The Mahob by Amok pop-up restaurant inside Hawthorn’s Riversdale Hotel. Simon Schluter
The plea trai (kingfish) dish.
2 / 6The plea trai (kingfish) dish.Simon Schluter
Go-to dish: Prahok k’tis (eggplant and minced pork).
3 / 6Go-to dish: Prahok k’tis (eggplant and minced pork).Simon Schluter
Amok, a Cambodian staple of seafood poached in a coconut milk, curry and egg mixture.
4 / 6Amok, a Cambodian staple of seafood poached in a coconut milk, curry and egg mixture.SImon Schluter
The tiger prawn brioche roll.
5 / 6The tiger prawn brioche roll.Simon Schluter
Duck kari.
6 / 6Duck kari.Simon Schluter

14/20

Cambodian$$

Amok in Windsor was one of those restaurants I always meant to get to but never did, and therefore, when it closed, it fell into the category of ones that got away. The modern Cambodian restaurant, which opened on Chapel Street in 2015, shuttered in July 2022. I always feel a slight sense of guilt when a place on my to-try list goes away – if more of us had just acted on the impulse to check out Amok, it stands to reason that maybe it would have survived.

And so I was thrilled to see that the operation has re-emerged as a pop-up in Hawthorn East called Mahob by Amok.

Occupying a side room of the massive Riversdale Hotel, chef Angkeasereyvuth “Woody” Chet and his wife Chanthida Penh are presenting a version of their Windsor restaurant that’s likely a little less colourful and homey than the original – this very much feels like a function room on the side of a large pokies pub – but that cuts no corners when it comes to the menu.

Advertisement
Crispy zucchini flowers ($12 each) are stuffed with ricotta, and served with pomegranate and pomelo, as well as a honey yoghurt.
Crispy zucchini flowers ($12 each) are stuffed with ricotta, and served with pomegranate and pomelo, as well as a honey yoghurt.Simon Schluter

More than 30 dishes span starters, snacks, share plates, salads and larger curries, with the option for a $70-a-head tasting menu if you can’t decide. While some dishes are fairly traditional, most have some kind of creative spin, an ingredient or technique that adds something modern to the plate.

Crispy zucchini flowers ($12 each) are stuffed with ricotta, and served with pomegranate and pomelo, as well as a honey yogurt. Pomelo, the juicy, less-bitter grapefruit-adjacent citrus, is a favourite ingredient, used beautifully tossed with kingfish that’s been cured in coconut vodka, with lemongrass, lime leaf and coconut milk ($24). The ultra-bright fish comes shot through with coriander, and is piled atop betel leaves.

There are some very clever snacks, such as wild-caught tiger prawns on a brioche roll ($12), that would be better if Chet left the truffle oil out of the mayo on the bread. (I also avoided the fresh shucked oysters because the topping includes truffle oil – it may be one of my last true snobberies, but I’m sticking with it. Truffle oil is overwhelming and chemical-tasting and while I know it adds a whiff of luxury I maintain that no luxury is better than false luxury.)

The go-to dish: Prahok k’tis (eggplant and minced pork) for $24.
The go-to dish: Prahok k’tis (eggplant and minced pork) for $24.Simon Schluter
Advertisement

The prahok k’tis, a glorious smoosh of chargrilled smoked eggplant, minced pork, peas, pine nuts and coconut cream ($24), is hardly the most beautiful dish on the menu but it might be my favourite. There’s a lovely complexity at play here, both in the flavours and textures, that makes it quite unlike any other dish I can recall.

That’s how I felt about amok, the Cambodian staple of seafood poached in a coconut milk, curry and egg mixture that forms a mousse-like texture, the first time I tried it. The version here ($38), made with kingfish, barramundi and king prawn, is more like a seafood stew, the flavours distilled in the sauce rather than congealed into a fluffy solid.

Chet’s signature dish, a Cambodian duck curry ($38), is a marvel of richness, the duck marylands falling apart into the sauce of house-made red kroeung (Cambodian curry).

Chet’s signature dish, a Cambodian duck curry ($38) is a marvel of richness.
Chet’s signature dish, a Cambodian duck curry ($38) is a marvel of richness. Simon Schluter

If you’re a fan of the fiery green papaya salads found at Thai restaurants around town, the grilled tiger prawn version here ($24) might seem a little tame, even slightly bland, though it is a refreshing foil to the flavour-intense curries.

Advertisement

Mahob by Amok is slated to run through the end of May at the Riversdale Hotel, with the couple hoping to lengthen that residency for another six months. (I’m told that chances are good, though not guaranteed, for an extension.)

In the long run, I’d love to see this restaurant in a permanent home, one that feels a little truer to the vibrancy and soul of the cooking. But I’d eat this food if they were serving it from the back of a van in an empty lot. As long as Chet is cooking, we should all be there enjoying.

The low-down

Vibe: Corporate pub function room

Go-to dish: Prahok k’tis (eggplant and minced pork), $24

Drinks: Disco cocktails, short wine list. Drinks will come on a separate bill (licence owned by the hotel).

Cost: About $90 for two, plus drinks

Continue this series

16 hatted restaurants: Catch up on every Good Food Victorian review of 2023 (so far)
Up next
Inside Firebird’s long dining room.

Is Firebird still firing? The flavours are fantastic but the service is lukewarm

This fire-driven restaurant may not be writing an entirely new chapter on modern Australian cooking, but it is representing the genre admirably.

Assorted dishes at Totti’s Lorne.

Has Merivale’s gamble to open Italian powerhouse Totti’s in Lorne paid off?

While anything but local, this Sydney import is extremely fun, the food is delicious, and the view is damn near priceless.

Previous
Little Picket at Lorne Bowls Club.

How humble bowlo restaurant Little Picket bowled our critic over (and gained a hat)

The pretension is low but the quality is high at Jo Barrett’s charming restaurant that embraces homely bowlo awesomeness.

See all stories

Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up
Default avatarBesha Rodell is the anonymous chief restaurant critic for The Age and Good Weekend.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/melbourne-eating-out/mahob-by-amok-serves-top-cambodian-cuisine-in-an-unlikely-setting-20230420-p5d236.html