Aiyara Thai Restaurant — Restaurant in Mowbray

The food can be good here, deserving 4 stars perhaps. However, every 3rd or 4th time I go to Taste of Thailand I am disappointed, sometimes deeply disappointed, hence the 2 star rating given.

Last night it happened again. My partner and I visited the restaurant at about 9pm and probably paid a price for arriving late. I ordered the Panang Ped Linjee (Panang Duck Litchi Curry): a "tropical inspired curry of Thai spiced and litchi in a reduced panang and coconut curry base". The amount of duck added to the curry was far more than is the norm with duck which was appreciated at first glanced, but the duck turned out to be bone dry. In my judgement it was not only overcooked, but it may also have been kept warm for a long time which added even more dryness. The cuts served were not properly selected with sinewy and boney pieces thrown into the mix.

And thrown in afterwards the duck cutlets clearly were. The duck must have spent very little time in the curry, so did not take on any of the flavour of the curry. So the duck and the sauce did not blend together at all, neither in texture nor in taste. The fried rice served with the curry must have been waiting in a pot for hours too, because it was also overly dry.

Since I got the impression that the chef or cook or bottle washer scraped together the leftovers of the day and night and served it as Panang Duck Litchi Curry, I politelyinformed the waiter of my experience and asked him to talk to the manager about it. When I left some time later he confirmed that he did tell the owner whom he identified as the man behind the counter.

Maybe the message did not come across all that well because the owner did not engage with me, did not apologise, and did not offer compensation of any sort which one would expect considering that the curry plus the rice plus the waiter's tip set me back about R200 and the bill for my partner's dish plus mine inclusive of the tip was more than R400.

Did the new owner take over Chai Yo's chef because I had the same issue with that restaurant. (Taste of Thailand used to be Chai Yo's). Incidentally, I distinctly recall one evening where the duck was bone dry and... Nevermind, that's old hat.

If, after this review the reader still cannot suppress the urge to visit Taste of Thailand, Mowbray, my advice would be to not go late and to...

The smile and friendly service from Minona was a sign of things to come. She was extremely helpful and guided us through the menu with patience. The decor would be as expected and everything was extremely clean. Pleasant music.

We started with dim sum. Three tasted like chicken/ pork and the two white ones were prawn. Packed with flavour and steamed perfectly. The veg was a yummy added bonus and the “Thai ketchup” as she explained it was amazing with the slightest of heat kick.

The honey chicken is the best around. Burnt honey, fragrant hints of cinnamon and others plus soya and sprinkled with sesame. The sauce was neither bland nor sickly sweet- it was perfect with a bowl of jasmine rice. I had the noodles with chicken- such soft gentle flavours all balanced perfectly. No uncomfortable blast of garlic, ginger, chilli etc. it was just right. Portions were huge enough for doggy bags.

We went on an early Saturday lunch and it was quiet (3 tables).

Prices were very cheap, especially for the quality of cooking.

Highly recommended and we...

So this place came highly recommended by a reliable source and foodie .. We ordered the Pad Thai, jungle curry, vegetable fried rice and then a seafood soup in clear broth, the ingredients used in the dishes were 1st class and a great variation of stunning vegetables but the food was very disappointing and tasteless.. the pad thai had no flavor at all it was so bland... The soup was too sweet I couldn't eat it at all, the jungle curry was by far the best and most fslovourful and the veggie rice was horrible, it was one big mush, soft and overcooked although the vegetables used were top quality. I was so disappointed as the reviews in f.b were brilliant ..I just don't know what happened last night with our meal but it was nothing like...