Now Open: Mae Tao and Sons Kitchen inside Lotte Plaza Market in Orlando Featuring Cambodian and Lao Cuisine

Mae Tao & Son’s Kitchen is now open inside the food court at Lotte Plaza Market, 3191 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32808, giving the Cambodian and Lao concept its first permanent home after building a following through pop-ups and a food truck.

The business is run by husband-and-wife team Brittney Keophoxay-Lam and Dan Lam. Brittney’s family is Lao and Dan’s is Cambodian, and both have talked about wanting to represent those cuisines on their own terms rather than folding them under the broader label of Thai food. Dan came into the business with professional kitchen experience, including years working as a sushi chef, while Brittney has helped shape the concept around family recipes, cultural storytelling and the flavors they grew up with. The name itself is personal: “Mae Tao” refers to Brittney’s mother/grandmother figure, while “Son’s” points to Dan.

The menu mixes Cambodian and Lao dishes with some of the creative sandos and street-food-style items that made the truck popular. Good places to start include the Lao Hot Sando, with crispy chicken, jeow som pickled cabbage, papaya salad, Lao hot sauce and black garlic aioli; the BBQ Tiger Beef Sando; Cambodian noodle soup; beef, chicken or salmon laab; and traditional Lao-style papaya salad. Their roti fries are another signature, seasoned with Lao laab spices, while the loaded version adds kroueng-marinated fried chicken, garlic aioli, jeow som and sweet chili sauce. Roti with curry is a simpler option if you want to focus on the flaky bread and curry together.

One of the best ways to understand Mae Tao & Son’s is through dishes that pull from both sides of the family. Kroueng, the Cambodian herb and spice paste used in several of their dishes, sits alongside Lao flavors such as laab, jeow som and papaya salad.

The new Lotte location gives Brittney and Dan a permanent kitchen while keeping the food casual and easy to try alongside a trip through one of Orlando’s best-known Asian markets. The restaurant is currently open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Photos courtesy of Mae Tao and Sons and Brand Beyond

Mae Tao & Son’s Kitchen
3191 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32808
Inside Lotte Plaza Market
Website: MTSKitchen.com