MAILE'S THAI BISTRO
HAWAII KAI TOWNE CENTER, HAWAII
I have known the owner of Maile's Thai Bistro for around 15 years. Met her at Mekong Restaurant and Paesano's in Manoa many moons ago. Always beautiful, friendly and professional with her customers. Back in those days, Maile ran the front of the house or was a waitress. Today Maile owns her own restaurant - and let me tell you it is fantastic. This is an instant Taste of Hawaii Favorite. While the restaurant has been open for about a year, we have never gone and I don't know why. Last night Shirley was craving Thai food so Maile's was our first choice. We entered to find a beautiful bistro setting coupled with a packed bar with wide screen t.v. We were greeted by hostesses with large genuine smiles. They quickly checked our reservation and seated us at a table near the bar that also allowed me a view of the busy kitchen. Maile herself came to the table to greet the family and catch up on old times. She is the ultimate host. Truly makes you feel special to be in her establishment. After Maile left, some appetizers began to show up out of nowhere. First there was a puffed noodle with fresh herbs and a light chili sauce. Then came the Calamari. Lighted breaded and delicious. Perfectly cooked and plump pieces of squid served with a Thai red chili sauce. This dish was so good that Keli said it was like having a birthday. After the Calamari came a small round dish of golden french fries. Little sticks of flavor that were laced with Thai spices. This was a huge hit and every french fry was devoured within minutes. After all that came our original order. Spring Rolls ($9.90). 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. This is a huge portion with six good size rolls. You place the rolls in a wrap of lettuce, add some cucumber, sweet chili sauce and hot sauce. This makes a Thai Spring Roll Burrito that will have you coming back time and time again. Perfectly cooked spring rolls that are not mushy or overcooked. We followed the Spring Rolls with the Thai Rice Noodles with Bean Sprouts (Pad Thai). Served with Chicken for ($10.90). Again a huge portion that easily feeds 3-4 people. I loved the Pad Thai. Probably one of the best in the city. Noodles were cooked perfectly and lots of flavor and spice. Next came the Seafood Mixed Vegetable (Pad Pak Hom Mid). This dish was ($15.90). A combination of fresh ocean shrimp, scallop, and calamari sauteed with broth, young corn, cabbage, long bean, straw mushroom and a house special sauce. First of all the seafood was cooked perfectly with the scallops being moist and not tough. The fresh local vegetables and sauce were delicious. Serve this over the Thai Sticky Rice and you have a new favorite. There are so many good looking dishes on the menu here. I can't wait to go back and try them all. This is a great place to eat. The staff is courteous, professional and just plain nice. Smiles all over the place. What a great feeling to dine in this atmosphere for a change.
TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE.
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