The word Mama San is an old term denoting a woman in a supervisory role within South East Asian gentlemen’s drinking establishments. Chefs Will Meyrick & Palm Amatawet decided to create their new venture Mama san as a dedication to all the Mama san’s of Asia!
Serving authentic dishes from the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam, the food is creatively served in layered tiffins, on banana leaves and aboard thali trays. Signature dishes include an Asian Charcuterie Platter served with classic French baguette, Crispy Pork Hock on the bone with nahm jihm jauw & nam pla prik and Lamb & Pumpkin Pot-Sticker Dumplings.
All presented in a beautiful interior that was designed by Caroline Usher, the restaurant and bar spills over two-storeys.
Caroline Usher leads all creative work for the Sarong Group and is responsible for the interior design of Mama San. The unique purpose built warehouse interior blends vintage and retro eras, with tan leather oversized Chesterfield sofas, chairs, mirror walls, oriental side lit screens and quirky one off art pieces.
A range of black & white pictures showcasing Will Meyrick’s food travels around Asia adorn one of the walls in the ground floor dining room and scattered cushions help to create a homely feel on both levels.
Respecting the Mama San tradition the entire upper floor is open plan – accessing the terrace bar, cooking school, toilets and a 1000 bottle wine retail room allowing consumers to buy wine by the bottle or case. This final feature is very important in Bali where great wine is not as readily available as in some other Asian hubs!
With a Mama San Cooking School set to open over the 2011 Festive Seaons, Mama San will begin to provide an adventure into the art of making South Asian cuisine.
Chefs Will and Palm plan to share their trade secrets with willing participants and to host local and international chefs.
Each session is geared to fit fourteen people, with a kids cooking school launching in 2012.
Mama San offers valet parking for guests, seats 80+ guests on the lower level and 50 comfortably on the upper level. The ground floor restaurant is open every day from 12 to 11pm and the terrace bar on the upper floor will be open until 2am. The restaurant takes bookings from 6:30pm to 8pm, thereafter on a first come first serve basis. Cooking School bookings are welcomed as are group bookings for private events.