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Mailes Thai Bistro, a closer look
Aloha!
8/18/09 - A spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, it was, really, as all of us - Big Al, Da Gooch, and wifey and I all live within a five-minute drive from the Hawaii Kai Town Center, where sits Costco, Ross, Burger King, and... Maile's Thai Bistro. Though we're all kinda bummed that the excellent Austrian/German cuisine of Chef's Table is no longer, we also couldn't be happier that another great restaurant has taken-up residence in its place.
Owner Maile is super-cool, energetic, and friendly, and while being her first exclusive venture, she won't be considered a beginner by any means, as her family pedigree also includes the popular Italian restaurants Assagio's and Paesano's, both of which she'd been highly involved with for almost 20 years!
You know, it's always a wonder to me how spots in Hawaii Kai can do so well. I always figured that it'd be such a bother for the majority of the population, living in the town area, to make the drive out to the southeastern tip of the island, which must be happening quite a bit, because there just aren't enough people in Hawaii Kai to support so many bustling mega-stores and restaurants. I mean, there's Outback, Roy's, Zippy's, Blue Water Grill, The Shack, Therapy - and they're all doing well, sometimes really well! With the only other Thai eatery coming from tiny-little Thai Valley, nestled in the smallest shopping center you've ever seen, up in Kalama Valley, we're all very happy that there's still room at the party, especially when our newly-arrived guest is Maile's.
Most Thai restaurants have relatively clean and well-kept dining rooms, with shiny silverware, crisply-pressed linen, and crystal-like glassware, all set in atmospheres that scream Thailand. You'll find Buddhist statues, costumed elephants, hanging pictures of monkey-gods, rice paddies, and paddle-boats on the River Kwai, along with mini-shrines often bristling with sticks of incense, leaving the entire room smelling of their sharp, pungent aroma. Here at Maile's, you still have all your fine table-top accoutrements, but any manifestations of the mother-land almost all but disappear. The ambience here is modern, stylish, and, shall we say, multi-culturish? I mean, by the looks of this place, it could very well be a French, Japanese, or Hawaii Regional hangout just as easily as a Thai one. But then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as it all serves to give the restaurant a more sophisticated, couture, and elegant look and feel.
Besides, I don't know what it is about certain cultural restaurants - Thai, Vietnamese, even Chinese - they're just not places where you feel like enjoying a good wine or beer alongside. Good food? Most definitely! But when hangin' out with a small group of friends, looking for a few more drinks than normal, on a Friday or Saturday night? Nothing happening. Here at Maile's, however, thinking outside the Thai-box a bit leads to a very drink-friendly place, one where pad thai and evil jungle curry mingles seamlessly with a rosy pinot noir, cold Singha, tacky Blue Hawaii, or smooth, after-dinner Port! My kinda place, I tell you!
We had three different Southeast Asian beers between us, Tiger from Singapore and the other two from Thailand. Traditionally, Singha was by far the most popular beer in Thailand, but it's been getting trounced recently by Chang, which is cheaper and has a higher alcohol content. Of course, both of them, which contain 6%+ alcohol contents, are numbed-down to 5% levels here in the State's, softie's that we are. You know how it is in a country where multi-million dollar lawsuits are rising as surely and steadily as a Union Boss' paycheck, even in this current period of economic melt-down. My friend Dave, from China and Vietnam, has it right - he says they don't sue (for such cases as I'll now lay-out) in Asia because if a person gets drunk, that's his own fault! Noone is drinking the beer for him or her, and it ain't the responsibility of a cashier making the sale to baby-sit and monitor everyone in the bar or grocery store. You drink, you pass your limit, you crash your car or get into trouble - don't blame your friend, don't blame the liquor store owner, and don't blame the bartender (who you've probably already physically threatened for not giving you another drink), nor anyone else but yourself, period. End of story. Unfortunately, lawyers only go after those who have money, indirectly raising costs of everything for everyone else in the process. We got it so wrong here, I tell you...
Whatever the case, the majority of the table seemed to enjoy the smooth, well-rounded taste of Chang the best, myself being the lone dissenter, who stuck with his Singha, perhaps for nostalgic reasons, but more likely for the slightly more bitter, bolder taste.
But shifting back to lunch-time, when I never drink anything alcoholic, wifey and I enjoyed a leisurely meal beginning with her all-time favorite Thai dish. She orders it so much I always have to press her to try something new, succeeding only about half the time. It's almost as bad as a Vietnamese place, where the only thing she requests is beef pho, only thing, she doesn't budge on that one!
Nevertheless, I was glad she tried it here, because this one came as good as it gets anywhere! To tell you the truth, I was kinda half-expecting such fusion here that most dishes'd be dulled-down to an Americanized or localized shadow of the real thing, but what I found, at least in this dish, was a genuine, tangy-sour soup full of spices, exotic herbs, and lots of those traditional elements that make a real Thai dish sing, like kaffir lime leaf, galanga, and lemongrass. Happy, happy!
The glass-noodle salad we shared was also great, coming with another tangy-sour sauce, and stocked with all manner of fresh vegetables, spices, and herbs, as you can see:
Upon our kind waiters' request, we then had a red beef curry, which came with green and red bell's, onion, basil, and large strips of tender beef. The curry itself was a bit thicker and creamier than I normally prefer and consider traditional, but still, not a bad dish.
And that leads us back to another day, and another dinner with the gang, where instead of having an appetizer or two to share and an entree each, we stuck with an assortment from both sides of the menu, ordering everything izakaya-style, or a few dishes at a time. This way, we could fully appreciate each one as they came over the next two-and-a-half hours or so, in leisurely fashion, slowly enjoying the wide variety of flavors while a steady stream of drinks were served to enhance both the food and conversation!
We were kinda surprised, in a good way, when our kind and energetic waitress presented us with a complementary appetizer, which, I guess, happens during dinner, and not during lunch. Of course, Big Al's flirting may have been the real reason, we'll never know...
Usually, a couple of plates of mee krob will set you back $7-$10 a pop, so we were all more than excited about it, and even more so after having a bite! Maile's version was as light, pillowy, and Cheetos-crunchy as they get, with just the right amount of sweet/tangy fish sauce. It was a great start to what quickly became a very enjoyable evening.
Most Thai restaurants have only a few appetizers - mee krob, stuffed chicken wings, summer rolls, spring rolls, perhaps some crab or fish cake, maybe a couple more, but Maile's has a whole slew of them, no doubt available in such force because of the drink-friendly environment found here. They have all the above, plus other dishes in this same format, such as shaken beef, Thai fried chicken, spicy prawns, Thai-style clams, and even non-traditional items like seared ahi and tenderloin steak!
But we started with a generously-portioned order of calamari, which came with a slightly-sweet, eggy-yellow, very crunchy batter that almost reminded me of a P.F. Chang's, or of several other American chain's, which, as you know, come hard and heavy when it comes to deep-fried shells. That being said, your love for this dish will probably be based more on battered preferences than anything else. A spicy sweet/sour sauce and garnish of cucumbers complete the order.
But I think the consensus for favorite app had to lie with the Thai fried chicken. All I can say is, Phuket Thai - watch out!
Unlike the calamari batter, which I could have taken a pass on, this deep-fried coating was, despite being very substantial and pronounced, also very light and crispy at the same time. It was the perfect balance of being delicate without flying away and battery without getting too heavy. And the subtle, slightly Asian twist of lemongrass, along with the sweet/sour chili sauce, added just that little extra touch, that haunting, mysterious taste from the East that can't possibly come from any American-style fried chicken.
The chicken itself was also juicy and tender, perhaps just a tad shy of perfect, as I would have taken it out of the hot oil a wee-bit sooner. But still within range of delicious, believe me - a must-try next time you're here.
Like a good noodle, a good fried rice should come with starch as the dominant theme, not merely another competitor alongside overly large cuts of celery, carrot, onion, or various meats and seafoods. Neither should any seasonings or sauces stimulate the taste buds in too powerful a way, as you should be able to still taste the sweetness of rice in every bite. In fact, the most dominant flavor outside of the rice in this particular dish was actually a nutty, wok-charred searing that only accentuated the rice, just as in a good Japanese ishiyaki, yaki-onigiri, or Korean stone-pot rice, where the white kernels are toasted to a dark-brown or even black.
This pork fried rice wasn't burned nearly as much as the above-mentioned dishes, but just enough to give-off that nice, smoky taste and subtle blackening that can only come from a super-hot wok, which is everything in Asian stir-fry. Great dish.
Lots of people are a bit surprised with the shaken beef here. Normally associated with Vietnamese cuisine and served dry, or without gravy, in a soy, oyster sauce, and/or fish sauce marinade, the version here comes in a thick, curry-like coconut milk sauce. Coconut milk? With shaken beef? Hmmm... But who knows - I've never been to Thailand nor Vietnam, so maybe that's just how they do it in Thailand? Yeah, sometimes I've got more questions than answers, no?
Whatever the case, laying aside all culinary norms and expectations, the dish in itself was not too shabby - the beef was a bit tough at times, but the rich sauce was highly flavorful and matched well with the lean strips of grilled meat.
The tail-end of our savory entrees saw Big Al requesting a tofu/eggplant - thank you, bruddah Al! Clutch, brah, clutch!
This buggah was ono, coming with little more than the already-mentioned items, everything else playing supporting roles as sauces, herbs, and spices - lots of spices. Lots and lots of spices. That's because we ordered this one Thai-hot, which our kind waitress repeated back to us as Lao-hot. Sounds good to me, as I'm sure they both mean the same thing, which is a burn the hair-off-your-back inferno of ragingly-mad peppers, believe me. Between the four of us, each with a bowl of white rice, as well, we could only manage to put away half of this plate. Mind you, none of us were gonna admit that we were done-in by the heat, right? Never! It had to be that we were all just stuffed after the bevy of fine dishes already consumed...
Raja...
Of course, that sure didn't stop anyone from ordering not one more dish, but two, in the form of a couple of absolutely delicious desserts!
I gotta admit, though coming highly recommended by our kind waitress, I wasn't exactly too pleased at the thought of a mango w/sweet rice dish. I dunno, sugar, cream, and rice? Just sounds a little too hokey and provincial to be in a nice restaurant like this, and more like something I'd be eating out of a paper bowl and plastic spoon while wandering through a stinky fish market or trash-littered sidewalk in Chinatown.
Boy, was I wrong. It was actually very nice, and in my opinion, could have been served in any fine restaurant. The chewy-soft, silky texture of the rice was pleasant on the tongue, and the sweet, milky sauce made for a satisfying way to round-out the savory flavors of our meal. I'm guessing outside of the summer season, however, that they might have a hard time gathering a naturally-sweet, ripe, beautiful mango like this. No problem, just throw in some apples, pears, or bananas on-top instead, maybe?
As good as that was, I don't see how desserts can get any better than their crepe with vanilla ice cream! To tell you the truth, after several Singha's, I forgot what was even in the crepe itself, but all I know is that this thing was incredibly delicious. I just remember that flaky, fried on the outside, moist on the inside wrapper, which, like a fresh apple napple, went perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and the light drizzling of chocolate syrup was enough to send this dish waaay over the top!
Yes, I think Maile's hits the nail right on the head. It's the perfect combination of traditional and fusion, with dishes that combine the authentic ingredients of Thai cuisine with a few more progressive options, as well. You can also be assured that you won't receive the often indifferent customer service endemic to many deeply cultural restaurants, as your waitstaff is friendly and helpful, and trained in the way of a modern-style culinary enterprise.
All of us came away very much impressed, and glad to welcome such a place to the neighborhood.
Next time, where shall we go? Another shrimp truck? Sandwich shop? Sushi? Hmmm... I don't even know myself! I'll wait for what feel's right when the time comes...
Have a great and productive week!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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