New Orleans<\/a>) terms work, but you have to see the dining room to really appreciate it. There\u2019s a two-tone color scheme of pink on teal, with walls loaded with vintage gold-framed mirrors, all anchored by a sprawling jungle mural (by local artist Margie Tillman Ayres). What can we say? It really ties the room together, and it reflects Chef Uong\u2019s ethos: eclectic, inventive, unapologetic.<\/p>\nWhat\u2019s the crowd like?<\/p>\n
If I could be general for a minute, in my experience, the crowd is a collection of people having a really great time. A 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand nod may have lured curious foodies from their regular culinary tours of the city, but the mix is still heavy with loyal locals who just love what happens here. The weekend dim sum-style brunch is especially lively.<\/p>\n
What should we be drinking?<\/p>\n
The bar has one of those cocktail lists that looks casual on first glance and has irreverent names (Uncle Butthead, Drink Up Diva!), but it’s actually reassuringly well-considered and houses delightful surprises such as the pomegranate molasses and cardamom of the Moroccan Sidecar. Drinks skew tropical without descending into tiki-heavy parody. The wine list is surprisingly varied, and where else in town does the beer list include suds from India, Lebanon, and Honduras? For non-alcoholic options, delve into their esoteric tea menu.<\/p>\n
Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown\u2014especially what not to miss.<\/p>\n
First of all, let\u2019s clear up a common assumption: this is not a Chinese restaurant. Inspiration for the menu maybe leans Asian and Indian, kind of. Chef Uong has an aversion to tidy boxes and labels, and we\u2019re all better off for it. The selections change impressively often. The nuanced spice of the turmeric potato masala in the Pani Puri was only matched by the boldness of the Kashmiri Fried Chicken, which incidentally blended Szechuan pepper notes, just to keep you on your toes. Main courses bestride the globe with dishes such as the Tex-Mex of Pork Chile Verde, to the moreish cumin and tamarind of Cauliflower Bhaji, to the Cambodian flavors of Prahok Ktiss (a kind of pork and fermented seafood dip). In short, every meal is a delightful adventure; you just have to trust (and many do) Chef Uong\u2019s instincts.<\/p>\n
And how did the front-of-house folks treat you?<\/p>\n
Large groups, a quirky dining room, and a constantly-changing menu can be challenges to server morale, but that\u2019s not the case here. Chef Uong is invested in diners enjoying themselves in a genuinely holistic way, and this is apparent in the upbeat, knowledgeable staff. Smiles and friendly chat certainly aren\u2019t required during busy service times, but Mister Mao\u2019s front line seems to manage it all anyway.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the real-real on why we\u2019re coming here?<\/p>\n
Chef Uong has often spoken about Mister Mao\u2019s function as a community space, and together with restaurants such as Palm&Pine, there are often actions to back up the good intentions. Whether it\u2019s hosting fundraisers or running a roving pastry chefs program, Mister Mao is an active part of the communities that it serves. This is a good enough reason to try it, but it\u2019s the food and the obvious love that goes into it that will have you coming back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What were your first impressions? Owner and Chef Sophia Uong usually calls MM\u2019s aesthetic \u201cbougie on a budget,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":{"0":"post-445555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-united-states-of-america","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=445555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}