Sophina Uong, the executive chef and co-owner of the innovative Mister Mao restaurant and bar in New Orleans, has more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, in addition to being Food Network’s Chopped Grill Masters Napa “Grand Champion” in 2016. In fact, she's worked in nearly every position in the business during the course of her career, from serving and tending bar to managing and cooking, which she said is her real passion.
“I enjoy interacting with people,” said Uong. “Hospitality has taught me a great deal about social skills, customer service, and interacting with other members of our team. I love being able to introduce guests to some kind of new ingredient, flavor, or spice level through casual banter.”
Uong and her husband/partner, William “Wildcat” Greenwell, opened Mister Mao in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood in late July 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the restaurant has garnered a lot of attention and was named one of Bon Appétit’s “50 Best New Restaurants 2022,” in addition to being featured by Conde Nast Traveler’s “Global Food Map to World’s Best Restaurants 2022,” and Thrillist’s “Best Restaurants New Orleans.” The restaurant was also recently named a Top 10 finalist for the Spirited Awards' Best U.S. Restaurant Bar.
At the restaurant – a tropical roadhouse that showcases “inauthentic” globally-inspired cuisine – the Cambodian-American chef blends her expertise in collaborative cooking tradition and flavors from across the world with her creative dissection of the Southern plate.
“Mister Mao is like a Mexican Disco, as a few of our regulars have lovingly joked with us,” said Uong. “No, we are not a Mexican restaurant, in fact, we are not pigeon-holed to any type of cuisine. But we are a boisterous restaurant space to celebrate life, friends, and good times. The music is toe-tapping, the global food adventurous, and the vibe is always welcoming.”
Uong said she wanted to open a restaurant that was fun and full of laughter. “I have spent my entire cooking career in mostly formal atmospheres, where everything was so serious, almost precious,” she shared. “I wanted to go the opposite direction. I’ve always loved New Orleans, so when we had the chance, my husband [and partner], took the leap, moved, and the rest is history.”
An Exciting Vibe and New Flavors from Across the Globe
Upon entering the 1,400-square-foot restaurant and bar, guests experience bustling energy with servers zipping around with small plates. The chef’s counter seats six and provides up close and personal views of the open kitchen, and casual dining tables and chairs are strategically placed throughout the room. The vibrant venue features pinks, blues, and greens, all complemented by tropical plants and a hand-painted mural by New Orleans artist/designer Margie Tillman Ayres. The overall vibe is tropical jungle.
“The interior echoes our same mindset, when it comes to the food and drinks,” said Uong. “It’s funky, it’s unique, it’s bold, and it’s meant to create fun."
At Mister Mao, Chef Uong and her team create combinations of flavors, ingredients, and techniques from all around the world. “You can find something from so many regions on our menu, and then we add a touch of southern flair to them, since I love the food from the south,” Uong explained. “We really aim to introduce our guests to new flavors from across the globe.”
On its website, Mister Mao’s encourages guests to come as they are with an open mind.
“Our food is not familiar in the traditional sense, so we want them to be open,” noted Uong. “You may know some of the ingredients or flavors, but the way we create our dishes with so many different influences is pretty unique. We want our guests to come in and trust us to guide them through a global dining adventure. We want them to be amenable to trying new things and mostly, we want them to come in ready for fun.”
The restaurant offers a rotating menu with an ever-changing selection of small plates served from roving carts. The fun, whimsically themed menu categories include “Drinking Snacks,” “Foods We Love to Share, “You Don’t Have to Share,” and “These Bring Us Joy + Hellfire Heartburn.”
The “Drinking Snacks” menu category features things like Deviled Almonds & Plantain Chaat – an aromatic Indian riff on bar nuts; Banchan Mao – tiny bites of fruit pickles, lacto ferments of imperfect produce, dried shrimp mochi, and more; and Scallion Bread served with smoked aubergines, saba, and ginger for dipping.
The “Foods We Love to Share” and those “You Don’t Have to Share” includes untraditional takes on traditional dishes. Rotating shareable plates might include Escargot Wellingtons – snails en croute with preserved lemon, garlic butter, horseradish, and powdered greens; gluten-free Onion Bhaji with a vegetable-buttermilk dip; and Alabama Corn Pudding topped with Two Dog Farm tomatoes, cucumber, torpedo onions, sumac, and pickled corn, along with a North African inspired herb jam.
Some of the main plates or those “You Don’t Have to Share” include: Niman Ranch Pork Shanks – pork hind shanks dry rubbed with ground Congregation Coffee beans and hickory smoked with Chochoyotes; Mawi Tortilla masa dumplings and Korean piperade; and Raines Farm Wagyu Beef – smoked beef and slow braised in beef fat and served with cumin smothered chickpeas, Covey Rise tomatillos and summer radishes.
Mister Mao’s “These Bring Us Joy + Hellfire Heartburn” menu section features spicy dishes (not for the faint of heart) such as: Chilled Octopus Cocktail – habanero octopus aguachile with cerveza jelly, summer pickles, and avocado; and Pani Puri – camellia red bean and potato masala stuffed into semolina puffs and finished tableside with fiery mint water.
Called “Here Comes the Chuck Wagon,” the roving carts at Mister Mao change often, giving customers a variety of tiny plates to choose from. Sample cart items include: Gunpowder Dumplings, pierogi style, with coconut, urad dal, and arbol chile; gluten-free Crispy Fluke with Kashmiri chile oil; Backwater Duck Confit, served dragon lady style with cucumber and Kashmiri chile oil; Bacalitos – salt cod fritters, lime, and Tabasco mash powder; and the Cannibal Sandwich – an elevated version of the famed Wisconsin specialty, featuring raw Louisiana Wagyu Beef mixed with rye, colatura, and torpedo onions.
Uong noted that the restaurant pulls from different regions of the word to create the menu's bold, flavorful combinations of food – and it works. Guests are responding positively.
“We get so many great messages on social media or notes from customers thanking us for such a unique, fun, and delicious dining experience,” Uong said. “It feels great to know that what we set out to do, is actually being accomplished.”
Right now, the most popular dish at Mister Mao’s is Jumbo Lump Crab Garlic noodles with red boat fish sauce and parmesan butter, a nostalgic west coast dish for Uong, whose dad would often take the family to eat Dungeness crabs in California (at two years old, Uong and her family fled from war-torn Cambodia and found refuge in Long Beach, Calif.). “We would always have garlic noodles,” she recalled.
In terms of the bar, Mister Mao’s has a killer cocktail program at Naked Bill’s, Mister Mao’s quirky bar that’s as playful and eclectic as the cuisine. Drinks include Cathouse Spritz – a refreshing aperitif featuring Amaro Nonino, Campari, and lime; Billion Dollar Betsy, a boozy riff on a piña colada with dark and overproof rum, allspice, pineapple, and orgeat tres leches; and John’s Secret Dragon Lady – a Tiki-style cocktail with a bit of sweetness and saltiness featuring Malort, Benedictine, velvet falernum, orange, and saline. Guests can also enjoy an array of non-alc cocktails including the Hibiscus Masala Lemonade and Coffee Science Shrub + Tonic, and a focused wine list curated by General Manager and Sommelier Roger Eyles, as well as local brews from Zony Mash Beer Project.
So, how does Mister Mao fit into the New Orleans restaurant scene? Uong said that the venue doesn’t actually fit, and that’s what makes it standout.
“We artistically meld collaborative cooking traditions from across the globe with creative dissection of the Southern plate,” she said. “New Orleans is opening itself up to new flavors from Ethiopia, Africa, Malaysia, and India. The pani puri boom has taken off across the country, but here, local chefs are experimenting with new-to-them Indian flavors that translates into beverages also, with ingredients like chaat spice, or black salt with it’s sulfuric notes, or cumin syrup, rose water, turkish delight.”
A Focus on Community and Giving Back – ‘Do for Others’
The self-taught chef grew up surrounded by families and friends of all backgrounds, and she spent a lot of her time in kitchens, watching as mothers cooked traditional American suppers with delicious pot roast and abuelas made tortillas and stewed Mexican guisados. Uong said these deep-rooted memories have given her an innate love of bringing people together around food to create their own stories.
Her family also ran nine donut shops in Southern California. “I would stand on a milk crate and put donuts and French crullers into pink boxes,” recalled Uong. “My dad taught me what a baker’s dozen was, where you gave a free 13th donut if you liked the customers, so I gave everyone baker’s dozen because it was fun to make people smile with something so simple.”
Since those early days, Uong has worked in some of the San Francisco Bay Area’s most prestigious restaurants, including Restaurant Lulu, Absinthe, Citizen Cake, Revival Bar + Kitchen, Waterbar, Pican, and Calavera.
Today, Uong is passionate about community, giving back, and advocating for people. In fact, she’s actively involved in a variety of non-profits, including the MiNo Foundation, Turning Tables NOLA, and Make-A-Wish Foundation, working to ensure that the happiness she brings to people extends far beyond their palates.
“I host pop-ups regularly to give young rising chefs or food trucks a chance to get inside a restaurant and do their thing, said Uong. “We give them the proceeds of the night, so they make some money and get to show people what they’re all about.”
She also focuses on ensuring that her employees are taken care of through wages and benefits.
“I was lucky enough to get incredible support as I was coming up in this industry, so I want to do the same thing for others," Uong said. "I’m also really into advocacy for industry rights and work with a lot of organizations to make sure those who choose to get into the restaurant business get compensated for the hard work they do.”
Uong’s advice for other chefs, owners, and operators?
“Be confident in what you’re doing and do right by your customers,” she said. “But mostly, I would tell them it’s important to be a part of the community. Give back, do for others, and remember it can all change in a heartbeat.”
To learn more about Mister Mao, visit MisterMaoNOLA.com.
Aaron Kiel is an editor, writer and public relations professional in Raleigh, N.C. He’s worked in the beverage, tea and coffee industries for two decades, as well as hospitality and technology. He’s a journalist at heart, but he also wears a PR and communications hat through his consultancy, ak PR Group. He’s a contributing writer/reporter for Questex’s Bar & Restaurant News, and he recently worked as the editor of World Tea News with Questex’s Bar & Restaurant Group. In 2023, he was a finalist and honorable mention in the “Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards” for Range of Work by a Single Author – B2B.” Connect with him on Instagram: @adventurer_explorer.
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