MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

HAWAII KAI, HAWAII 

It is done.  I now have a new favorite Thai Restaurant.  After my 20 year plus love affair with Mekong on Beretania (which is now closed) I can move on and make Maile's in Hawaii Kai my favorite Thai restaurant.  I have known Maile for 20 years and believe me, she has not aged over the years.  Still beautiful, charming and the ultimate host for the restaurant.  Her staff is happy and provides top notch service every time.  The food rocks here.  Beautiful presentations and big bold flavors that amaze me.  We started with a dish of crispy noodles with bean sprouts and cilantro served with a sweet sauce.  Think this is the house appetizer that everyone gets when they dine here.  Just a light and fresh way to start the meal.  We ordered Spring Rolls ($8.90).  Golden deep fried spring rolls stuffed with mushrooms, carrots, long rice, ground pork and spices.  Served with slices of fresh cucumber, mint leaves, lettuce and house sweet and sour sauce.  I take a little bit of everything from above wrap it all in the lettuce, add some hot sauce and bam.  One of the best spring rolls on the Island.  Loved them.  Next up were the Maile Rolls ($9.90).  Vegetables rolled with shrimp and seasoned pork, wrapped in soft rice paper and served with the house special sauce.  These were beautiful on the plate and in my stomach.  The next dish came from Maile.  I would have never ordered off the menu.  It is simply called Cold Tofu ($4.90).  Yuck to me.  Boy was I wrong.  This was the best Tofu dish I have ever eaten.  Will order it every time I return.  Can't believe I am saying this.  I don't like Tofu.  What makes this dish special and tasty is Maile's Ginger Soy Chili Sauce.  This sauce would make a shoe taste good.  She should bottle it.  The entire table was amazed by this Tofu dish.  Next up were Maile's French Fries.  Yes, French Fries at a Thai restaurant.  They are sliced thin and crunch.  Probably some of the best fries you can get in Hawaii.  We love them.  The Pad Thai Noodles also rock here.  Noodles served with bean sprouts, carrot, green onion and peanuts.  The Seafood with Vegetables was also delicious.  Large scallops, calamari, shrimp and fish served with fresh vegetables in a really good sauce.  The Thai Yellow Curry ($8.90) was served with chicken, curry sauce, coconut milk, potato and carrots.  Not spicy but good flavor.  The Larb Salad ($9.90) was served with minced chicken and fresh herbs.  You can wrap the larb in lettuce or cabbage.  There are dozens of other dishes on Maile's menu and believe me I want to try them all.  This is a TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE.
Click links below for more posts on Maile's Thai Bistro:
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2013/12/mailes-thai-bistro-revisited.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2010/08/mailes-thai-bistro.html

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

SARAH AND COREY.  JUST DAYS BEFORE THEY HAVE FIRST BABY

CRISPY NOODLES

MAILE ROLLS

SPRING ROLLS

SOME OF THE BEST FRIES ON THE ISLAND

PAD THAI WITH CHICKEN

SEAFOOD WITH VEGETABLES

THAI YELLOW CURRY

LARB - MINCHED CHICKEN SALAD

PHUKET THAI RESTAURANT - KAMAKEE STREET

PHUKET THAI

HONOLULU, HAWAII 

Phuket Thai opened a location near Ward Avenue and the large theatre complex that anchors the block.  After a movie we decided to walk across the street for some Thai Food.  We love Thai food.  In fact, in my younger days I probably ate at Mekong on Beretania Street once a week.  To this day, the original Mekong is probably one of the places I have eaten most in my lifetime.  Absolutely best Thai food I have ever eaten.  Mekong is gone now.  Replaced by a burger joint.  Phuket Thai has another not far from our old condo.  We always enjoy the food but it just has a different taste than the old Mekong.  Phuket Thai's new restaurant is located on Kamakee Street just off Ala Moana Blvd.  We were greeted and seated in a matter of seconds with a 7:00 reservation.  The restaurant was a good 2/3 full and filling quickly.  I found the staff to be excellent here.  Our waiter was first rate.  The hostesses also work hard.  When there is nobody at the front they run around and fill water glasses always keeping busy and taking care of the guests.  We started with The Spring Rolls ($8.50).  Six vegetarian rolls that were really a bit bland.  Nothing in them but noodles it seemed.  The Thai Beef Salad ($9.25) was probably my favorite dish of the evening but still a bit bland.  The Paht Thai Noodles ($9.75) were not bad.  Large serving of noodles with some crunchy bean sprouts and chicken.  The Seafood Combination ($12.50) was filled with shrimp, fish, calamari and scallops.  The sauce was real soupy.  This was not a hit and we did not want to take the leftovers home.  I was amazed how fast all the food came out considering the restaurant was almost full.  The appetizers were at our table only minutes after we ordered them.  As soon as we put a dent in the Spring Rolls, our entrees came quickly.  Our waiter was polite and professional.  Service was the good part of our meal here.  I didn't like the restaurant seating because you have people sitting too close on both the right and left.  It is like being part of their group and there is no privacy.  I know, you don't go out to a restaurant for privacy.  Just don't like this seating set up.  All in all the food was o.k.  Made me really miss Mekong on Beretania.

SPRING ROLLS

PAHT THAI NOODLES WITH CHICKEN

SEAFOOD COMBINATION