"The winning story profiles Khmai Fine Dining, a Cambodian restaurant on Chicago’s North Side, and the emotional journey that brought chef Mona Sang and her mother Sarom Sieng to start it. In “A Daughter’s Culinary Ode to Her Mother Brings Traditional Khmer Food to Chicago,” Eater Chicago report Naomi Waxman dives into the family’s history, including their painful memories of the Cambodian genocide and settling in Chicago, home to more than 3,000 Cambodians and Cambodian Americans. Sieng brought her food traditions to the U.S., shopping at Asian markets across Chicago and cooking for the wider Cambodian community as well as her own family — including Sang, who eventually found her way into professional kitchens and Chicago’s largest restaurant group." - Eater Staff
