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Chef's Waffles Become True Funnel Cakes
24 Mar
Summary
- Chef Phila Lorn transformed his mother's homemade waffles into authentic funnel cakes.
- Mawn restaurant features wok-fried funnel cakes with miso caramel and powdered sugar.
- Lorn's family immigrated to Philadelphia in 1985 after escaping the Khmer Rouge.
Phila Lorn, a chef in Philadelphia, has opened a restaurant called Mawn, located in the Italian Market. Here, he serves a reimagined version of the funnel cake. This dessert is inspired by the 'waffles' his mother used to make him at home when he was growing up in Little Cambodia, a South Philadelphia neighborhood.
Mawn's funnel cake is prepared authentically, fried in a wok with intense heat. It offers a tender, cake-like chewiness rather than a simple crunch. The dish is finished with a blend of miso caramel and powdered sugar, creating a unique sweet and salty flavor profile.
Lorn's parents immigrated to Philadelphia in 1985, having survived the Khmer Rouge regime and refugee camps. Their early years in the U.S. involved difficult factory and farm work, symbolized by tattoos Lorn has of the fruits his mother picked. Mawn is situated a short distance from where Lorn grew up, in a city known for its large Cambodian immigrant community.
