Thalias Hospitality

Luu Meng

Director of Thalias Hospitality

Luu Meng was born in Cambodia and hails form a lineage of culinary celebration, whose grandmother honed her own skills in the Kitchen of the Royal Palace and a mother who has passed on this passion for food.

Drawing on this inspiration and equipped with knowledge of Khmer traditional usage of flavors and spices from his matriarchs, he further pursued his passion for cooking abroad.

After ten formative years developing his skills in restaurants in Singapore and Malaysia, he returned to Cambodia and was quickly recruited as a chef at the Hotel Cambodiana.

With extensive kitchen experience in five star hotels belonging to the SOFITEL and Sunway group, his love of Cambodia dishes and the creative fusion of other international cuisines continue unabated.

Luu Meng has worked with Anthony Bourdaine and appeared in an episode of the Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape as a guest chef as well has having bestowed with the honorable title of ‘Cambodian Master Chef’ in recognition of his creativity and celebration of Cambodian dishes.

In 2005, Luu Meng established Malis with Arnaud Darc based on a passion to see authentic Khmer cooking served respectfully in chic aesthetic presentations and under a more enchanting ambience. The success of Malis has elevated even further the respect for his culinary style and excellence in delivering the complete hospitality experience. Malis has been bestowed with the title of the ‘Best Cambodian Cuisine’ by the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia and awarded Restaurant of the Year in Cambodia by the International Travel Expo.

Luu Meng has been honored by the French government with the Ordre National du Mérite Agricole (National Order of Agricultural Merit), an honour established in 1883 to reward services to agriculture, appointed Cuisine Advisor of the Chaine des Rotisseur. He is also currently the president of Cambodian Hotel Association, president of Cambodia Chef Federation, vice president of Asean Hotel Association, vice president of The China Hong Kong and Macao expatriate and business association of Cambodia and vice the Huang Zhao association of Cambodia.