GREAT EATS HAWAII: MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

Sunday, December 15, 2013

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

HAWAII KAI TOWNE CENTER

333 KEAHOLE STREET

HONOLULU, HI 96825

808-394-2488

808-394-2445 FAX

HOURS: Monday thru Thursday 11:00 AM - 9:30 PM

Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Sunday 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM

www.mailesthaibistro.com

I love Maile's Thai Bistro in Hawaii Kai. Hands down one of the best Thai restaurants on Oahu. You cannot go wrong here. Everything on the menu is bursting with bold Thai flavors. The restaurant itself is comfortable, hip and always busy with Maile herself greeting customers. There is no finer host than Maile. Always smiling, hugging and talking with her guests. She seems to always find time to stop by your table and make you feel like family. I have known Maile for probably 20 years now. We crossed paths when she was a waitress at a small Italian restaurant in Manoa. Fast forward to today and Maile is a successful business woman with a thriving restaurant in what has to be one of the best locations in Hawaii Kai. Her restaurant turns five years old this month so Happy Anniversary Maile! While it is always great to see Maile, we actually go to Maile's for the food. On this occasion my daughter did well in a speech competition and was rewarded by being taken out. She picked Maile's because she had been craving the Pad Thai Noodles. I recommend making a reservation at Maile's as the place can get busy. Even if you do not have a reservation, the staff will do everything possible to seat you on a timely basis. You can always take a seat at the bar, but from what I have seen you may not want to move from it. The little bar has a personality of its own and always seems to be hopping. Now onto the food. We always start out with Maile's Tofu ($6.90). Yes I said Tofu. I never eat Tofu and you will never find it in our refrigerator. My wife and daughter however absolutely love the Tofu at Maile's . The secret to this dish is her homemade sauce. The ginger, soy and chili sauce is out of this world. Maile should bottle it. This stuff is good. Really good. Makes even me eat Tofu. Next up are Maile's French Fries ($4.90). Again not something we would normally order at a Thai restaurant and something that my wife and daughter always have to order at Maile's. The fries are thinly cut, crunchy and super delicious. Once you eat one - it's over. You will be going back to the cup for more I guarantee. The Spring Rolls ($10.90) are another family favorite. Deep fried spring rolls stuffed with mushrooms, carrots, long rice, ground pork and spices. Served with slices of cucumber, mint leaves, peanuts, house made sweet and sour sauce and lettuce for wrapping. Place the Spring Roll on a piece of lettuce and add the cucumber, mint peanuts and sauce. I always top with some spicy Thai Chili Sauce and roll up like a burrito. The flavors and texture are amazing. The Green Papaya Salad ($9.90) is light, fresh, spicy and delicious. Shredded Green Papaya, tomato, long bean with a house made tamarind sauce. Wrap this mixture up in the cabbage leaves and you have a very healthy vegetarian dish that is full of flavor. Maile's Spicy Seafood Combo ($17.50) includes shrimp, calamari, scallop with a boat load of fresh vegetables. Love the bamboo shoots, mushroom and onions. You need to tell the waiter what level of heat you want with this dish. While it says spicy in the name, our dish had very little spice. I would have liked to have kicked it up a few levels. This dish is very light and satisfying. A huge family favorite here is the Pad Thai Noodles with Chicken ($12.90). Rice noodles cooked in a sizzling hot wok with tofu, bean sprouts and chives. Probably one of my favorite noodle dishes ever. Love to eat these noodles with plenty of Thai hot sauce. We also love the Ong Choi with Beef ($12.50). Beef sautéed with garlic and a savory sauce served with Ong Choi. Ong Choi is a vegetable that absorbs the flavor of the sauce. Super delicious. I am writing this and realizing that Maile's serves up a lot of vegetarian dishes and entrees and appetizers that include lots of vegetables. Not a lot of fried stuff on the menu. Actually pretty healthy food. I highly recommend Maile's.

It is always a TASTE OF HAWAII FAVORITE!

Click links below for more posts on Maile's Thai Bistro:

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2011/06/mailes-thai-bistro.html

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2010/08/mailes-thai-bistro.html

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO IN THE HAWAII KAI TOWNE CENTER IS RIGHT
BEHIND THE HUGE CHRISTMAS TREE

MAILE'S THAI BISTRO IN HAWAII KAI HAS SOME OF THE BEST THAI FOOD ON OAHU

THE BAR AND RESTAURANT AT MAILE'S IS ALWAYS BUSY AND ALWAYS FUN

TOFU WITH MAILE'S INCREDIBLE LIGHT GINGER SOY CHILI SAUCE

SPRING ROLLS

WRAP SPRING ROLL IN LETTUCE AND ADD CUCUMBER, PEANUTS, SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE.
I TOP WITH THE HOT CHILI SAUCE TOO. ROLL IT UP AND EAT IT LIKE A BURRITO.