Khmai is chef Mona Sang's telling of Cambodian cuisine, built from her own family's story. Born in Cambodia, she came to Chicago as a child with her mother and siblings, and it was her mother's cooking — done for years as a private community caterer — that shaped Sang's palate before she spent a decade cooking professionally in Chicago, including time with Lettuce Entertain You. The name fuses "Khmer," for the language and culture, with "Mai," meaning mother.
The restaurant runs as two separate sides. Kaun Khmai is the introductory experience — Cambodian food told through modern technique, meant to ease newcomers and younger generations into the cuisine. Khmai is the deeper side: a provincial tasting journey built on traditional, home-cooked methods passed down through generations, with each menu exploring the ingredients and traditions of a different Cambodian province. The current journey travels through Ratanakiri, a region in the northeast known for its forests, waterfalls, and Indigenous communities, told across seven courses.
Khmai was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Best New Restaurant award in 2023.
The restaurant runs as two separate sides. Kaun Khmai is the introductory experience — Cambodian food told through modern technique, meant to ease newcomers and younger generations into the cuisine. Khmai is the deeper side: a provincial tasting journey built on traditional, home-cooked methods passed down through generations, with each menu exploring the ingredients and traditions of a different Cambodian province. The current journey travels through Ratanakiri, a region in the northeast known for its forests, waterfalls, and Indigenous communities, told across seven courses.
Khmai was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Best New Restaurant award in 2023.