The dining room of Soho’s Sun and 13 Cantons doesn’t exactly scream the next star chef’s prime breeding ground. Pretty tightly crammed with banquettes, familiar green metro tiles and proximity to the pub’s clamorous post-work boozers, it appears to be pretty run of the mill. But this space has hosted nascent residencies from the likes of Sambal Shiok and Darjeeling Express, and its latest – Mamapen – may be the most exciting to date.
London’s first Cambodian restaurant, Mamapen is a love letter to the rich flavours and vibrant street food culture of Cambodia. Inspired by backyard barbecues, bustling street food scenes, and the warmth of family gatherings, this pop-up kitchen is an innovative take on Cambodian food. Mamapen has been set-up by Kaneda Pen. Named in honour of his mother, he also serves up dishes inspired by his Scottish partner. The result? Cambodian food with its own soulful twist: think, Hash Browns with a Sour Curry Sauce, Panko Pork Toast and Curries with Baguette Slices! And London seems to be catching on to this next big thing: on the evening we visited, the place was rammed, so much so that we were moved to sit in the surprisingly ambient basement bar area.
To snack, we went for Pan-Fried Tofu Knots (£7.50) and a BBQ Mushroom Skewer (£4.75). Soft and meaty-textured (despite being vegan), soaked in rich green chilli oil and topped with fried shallots and spring onions for extra crunch, these intruiguing textural tofu knots delivered on all fronts. Cambodia seems like a very nice place to be vegan.
The mushrooms were a hit thanks to the umami sweet soy glaze around each shiitake. Licked with smoke from the coals – at least, I assume they’re cooking over live fire because it certainly tastes like it – the were texturally very satisfying and served with a piquant chilli-spiked dip.
For mains we shared a delightful Sour Pineapple Curry (£15) with roasted sweet potato and pickled mango. A flavour-filled vegan twist on a traditional Cambodian dish which is built around kroeung – a lemongrass-based curry paste – the result is a delicate balance of sour, spicy and sweet – a testament to the complexity and depth of Cambodian flavours. The Cambodian jasmine rice (£3.50) comes from ethical brand Ibis, which supports reforestation and Cambodian rice farmers.
Despite their announced title of “London’s Only Cambodian Restaurant”, Mamapen likely aren’t trying to be the last word in the cuisine. In fact, Barang seem to be scheduled to pop-up over the next week in the capital. But where Pen stands out is the way he uses Cambodian cuisine as an inspiration with his own creative and interesting twists, serving food which is punchily flavourful, delightfully unfamiliar, and remarkably good. With nothing more than £17, the overriding sense of Mamapen is of unpretentious, perfectly pub-adjacent fun.
Mamapen, Sun & 13 Cantons, 21 Great Pulteney St, London W1F 9NG
Website: https://www.sunand13cantons.co.uk/cambodian-food-london
Rating: *****
Yumtini 