Malai Kitchen — Restaurant in Dallas

There is plenty of parking in a nearby parking also limited street parking. Most staff wore masks, guests did not. Tables were definitely not socially distanced. There is indoor seating as well as “outdoor” (it was covered when we were there).

The restaurant was fairly busy when we arrived. Luckily we were seated in the outdoor space. Our drinks and food arrived fairly fast. However, we specifically requested no cilantro in any dishes. Almost all of the dishes had cilantro in them…when we mentioned it to the waiter he half apologized and made the excuse he can’t control what the kitchen does.

Then it took forever for us to get our second round of drinks…which ended up never arriving.

Sticky rice (free appetizer): plain sticky rice, nice to munch on while we waited.

Drinks: nice and strong and unique flavors

Lemongrass mussels: very flavorful and easy to eat. I enjoyed the sauce a lot to dip the bread in.

Thai Lemongrass soup: light enough broth to really drink enjoyably. Wish it came out warmer.

Green Papaya Salad: we requested it to be extra spicy and they definitely delivered. I liked the fact that it did not have the fishy flavor.

Jungle Curry Hot Pot Shrimp: definitely not the typical curry I have had before. There was no curry flavor at all. It was meh in my opinion.

Chilean Sea Bass: very light, but the sea bass dissolves in your mouth.

Drunken Noodles: not spicy, but taste pretty good.

Spicy Basil Chicken Fried Rice: not really spicy in my opinion. Egg could be more runny, so it mixes better. Overall pretty good!

Roti: wish it came out warmer. Not as crispy as I have had before. Also typically there is a curry sauce that you can dip in but there wasn’t.

Mango Sticky Rice Smash: an unique twist to the mango sticky rice dessert. The mangoes tasted pretty fresh. Overall a bit more sweeter than what I have had in Thailand.

For the price, the service just wasn’t there. The food was not bad. Not something I would go out of...

My friend Suzy & I really LOVE this place - we meet here whenever we're both in town. I asked her where she wanted to go for her birthday meal and she immediately offered Malai - "I know we go there all the time, but I'm reeeally craving their Thai!" The wait staff is excellent- very attentive from the front desk seating to a main waiter + different waiters rotating in unison to tap off your water, ask about a wine refill + remove plates without even asking. Our main waiter was Antonio- he was great - very attentive, responsive + friendly. When I asked him for my favorite wine when I sat down, I told him my friend was fighting downtown Dallas traffic and would need wine when she arrived. He very nicely stated that he'd bring my wine right away + would wait til my friend showed up to bring out her wine, so "it would be nice & cold when she arrives" (+ not too warm sitting in the outdoor Dallas patio). I thought that was so sweet - I even text my friend about it ahead of time! We love Malai's happy hour ademame, chicken skewers + white wine, along with their amazingly yuummy shrimp Pad Thai we order ALL the time = what can I say - we're creatures of habit - ha! At the end of the meal - I gave my friend her birthday gifts to open and waiter Antonio came directly over to table to share his birthday wishes and bring us some suuper yuummy tiramisu as her celebratory dessert (*NO charge - how nice!)....Overall - we both LOVE meeting at Malai for our monthly Thai Happy Hour dinner and plan to return each month because we LOVE the food, service & atmosphere SO much! THANK YOU Malai for yet another excellent culinary experience and MANY THANKS to waiter Antonio for helping to make my friend's birthday...

Malay Kitchen is a veteran eatery, having been in operation for over a decade. The owners, Yasmin and Braden Wages, have created a space where we visited on a Friday night and were pleased to find plenty of seating available. The noise level was also conducive to conversation, which we appreciated.

However, the ambiance was somewhat detracted from by the presence of TV screens showing sporting events. While this might appeal to some, we felt it didn't quite fit with the overall dining experience.

The wait staff, while efficient, came across as robotic and lacked a genuine understanding of the restaurant's cuisine. It was surprising how little knowledge they had about the dishes, and we were particularly taken aback by their inability to pronounce "Penang" correctly. This lack of familiarity with the menu was disappointing.

On a positive note, the homemade Sriracha was excellent. It was a standout element that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall, Malay Kitchen offers a comfortable setting with ample seating and a reasonable noise level. However, the robotic service, lack of menu knowledge among the staff, and the distracting TV screens detract from the experience. The excellent homemade Sriracha was a definite highlight.

As ordinary consumers, we are not paid or compensated in any way for this review. We are always looking for reliable and transparent businesses and hope the owner will take this feedback into...