Malai Kitchen — Restaurant in Dallas

First time trying Malai Kitchens with the Mrs. and to say that we enjoyed our visit would be an understatement! Let me first preface this by saying I am a foodie. I love to cook, grill, smoke, bake, watch, and devour food. So, I apologize to any and all Thai/Vietnamese food traditionalists or snobs, not mutually exclusive or inclusive of the other, that may take offense to this rating.

However, we thoroughly enjoyed everything we had; some dishes more than others, but this was an experience. First, we couldn't decide on the appetizers; thankfully, Greg, our wonderful and helpful waiter, suggested the sampler. We added the (4) grill fired prawns with the ruby red grapefruit. Our least favorite of the sampler was the Chicken Satay ( my personal suggestion would be to toss it in the wok or season it with whatever they tossed and fired the prawns in), the Ahi Tuna Spring rolls very herbaceous and delightful, the Vietnamese Meatballs were actually patties but very well complimented by the lettuce wrap and herbs, our favorite of the sampler were the Imperial Rolls (light, crispy, and savoury). Can't wait to come back to try the Samosas.

For the entree, I couldn't decide between the lambshank or ribs; I asked Greg, and he said both were good, but the ribs were his favorite. Shockingly, I had leftover Memorial Day ribs for lunch but ordered the ribs anyway; I'm very happy I did. The ribs were nicely complimented by the Thai Papaya Slaw and green curry rice noodles. The slaw was a tarty/tangy herbal embrace that just hugged the ginger ribs and semisweet green curry noodles and dared me to eat them apart. The Curry beer for me, was the winner of the night. Oh, how I wished that we had chosen to eat outside and that I had a cigar with me. Ordering the beer was an afterthought after I smashed the Bourbon Smash and wanted something to wash dinner down. I asked Greg to bring me a beer with the entree, 6% abv or higher; he suggested the curry beer. I was expecting it to lend itself to more of a hoppy, sipping beer, but it was every bit malty, smooth, and not overly bitter or sweet. Mr. Wages needs to bottle that damn beer and ship it to Central Market, Trader Joes, Total Wine, or somewhere where i can readily add it to my cart.

I wasn't paying attention when Greg and my wife were discussing the menu as he tried to assist her with making a decision and not going with her safe option shrimp or chicken Pad Thai. When her meal came to the table she was quite pleased. After offering me a bite, I was pleasantly moved by the intense wok seasoning and flavor of the dish (it was a generous serving of chicken, shrimp, and tofu). Disappointed that we didn't order the shrimp chips, we placed a side order for $3 more. When they came to the table, it was "wholly shrimp chicarrones Batman." The chips were light, crunchy, lightly dusted, and very tasty. In fact, we enjoyed them so much, Greg suggested we try them with the crab dip our next time in. We could go as spicy as we'd like. "What the hell Greg", I think we'll have some of that damn crab dip extra spicy. The owner/chef brought the crab out to the table with the additional shrimp chips; we had a great discussion as we complimented our food. We talked so long he felt the need to apologize for distracting us from our meal. It was like eating a deconstructed Lump Crab Cake, minus the remoulade, with the light, flavorful, shrimp chip and the spicy delicacy of the crab. The amount of crab was like 2 or 3 jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with no stuffing to give the elusion of a lot of crab. The only things stuffed were the wife and I. I was literally throwing in the towel when Greg informed us that Mr. Wages, the owner, insisted that we not leave before trying desert, not 1 but 2 deserts; compliments of the house.

We ordered the Coconut Creme Pie and the Peanut Chili Chocolate Roti. The Roti was good, but the Coconut Creme Pie was the favorite. It looked more intimidating than it ate; it is the Bob Sapp of deserts; big but throws a light punch. A1 experience top to bottom. We'll...

Walking in I had very high expectations and was pleased with the aesthetic. I was greeted by the host and told they would need to grab a connecting high chair and showed me the table she was setting up for our family. I thanked her, and took my daughter to the restroom to wash her hands while my husband parked our vehicle (parking is VERY limited so he dropped us off at the door). Returned a few moments later to see others had been seated at the table in which we were told was being set up for us. We then had to wait for around 25 minutes to be seated with no explanation or apology from the host or any staff. Initially beginning this visit with a poor impression. I was thrilled to see that they had whole fried fish, and immediately placed our order with the waitress. Was approached by the manager about 5 minutes later and was told they were sold out, then proceeded to hear him go into the kitchen and tell the cooks to 86 the fish… odd but ignored it. I was intending to order a cocktail and around 10 minutes go by with our waitress nowhere in sight. Mind you it was dying down at this point as the rush was clearing out. Finally my husband stopped the manager walking by and asked about ordering cocktails, he then took our cocktail orders himself. We never were approached by our waitress after that point again and for some reason received a different server who was kind but also fairly slow in refilling beverages and also in taking cocktail orders, we waited a few more times but after the second wait we gave up on beverages. The food was okay, not great & highly overpriced. The yellow curry was bland, and the beef was chewy. The chicken pho was also bland and the noodles were thicker and gummy (not a traditional pho). Overall our experience was underwhelming to say the least. With high hopes we were definitely disappointed with the customer service as well as the food. We are foodies who love going out, I would only recommend this restaurant for the atmosphere, but in our opinion for poor service and bland food there are several places nearby with...

We had a double date here on a Thursday evening and had an incredible time. Since there were four of us, we decided to order and share everything family style. We were able to try a variety of dishes and while they were all great, we enjoyed some that we would like to recommend.

Our friends suggested we order the mussels and “meatballs” to start. Both appetizers were great and because they are so different, it is difficult to recommend one over the other. The “meatballs” were more of a pressed patty. They were fun to try since you wrap the meat, mint, basil, and greens in a lettuce leaf and then dip. The mussels were delectable and served in a in a little pot with a coconut broth.

Our second course was a taste of the Thai Lemongrass Soup with Shrimp and Rice. I really enjoyed trying this and would order it again.

We then ordered two entrees to split between the four of us. I always enjoy Pad Thai but Malai Kitchen has a wonderful Pad Kee Mow. If you only order one thing here, try the Drunken Noodles.

We finished our evening with the Mango Sticky Rice Smash.

Our tab was really high due to eating everything and having numerous cocktails each! This was a personal choice and experience for us and not required to have a wonderful experience here.

The atmosphere is really beautiful and I especially loved and appreciated the glass wine room. The service we received was very attentive and not overbearing.

If you’re thinking about trying this place, do! It is a...