Malai Kitchen

Great ambiance, good service and excellent taste. Completely satisfied with our visit. Will be back for more!

This is such an amazing Thai/​Vietnamese restaurant! It was so accommodating to vegetarians, almost half the menu could be customized to a vegetarian meal!
I got the vegetarian pad see ew, and had it with the house made hot sauce. The tofu was slightly burned, but it was extremely delicious. Also, the noodles were authentic, and the vegetables were all very well cooked.
My mom got the vegetarian drunken noodles (medium), and she thoroughly enjoyed it as well. She really enjoyed the tofu in her dish, as well as the abundance of vegetables in her dish.
My dad got the regular drunken noodles (medium), and the larb ped (minced duck «salad») with a bowl of white rice. He enjoyed it, and would go back. However, he was upset that he didn’t get as much noodles, as they filled the bottom of the bowl with iceberg lettuce. He says if they filled it with cabbage instead, it would be an amazing dish.
Overall, I will go back if I’m in the area. Is definitely recommend this for vegetarians, they have tons of choices!

Great food, great service, and great atmosphere!
Every employee helps each other out at this restaurant, so whenever you have any need, your needs will be met immediately. The meal is started off with a complimentary sticky rice dish. Nothing big, but it’s nice to munch on while looking over the menu.
Our server was extremely knowledgeable about the menu. We didn’t realize that we came during happy hour and he was nice enough to point that out to us. He also gave us the option to sample a beer before deciding on one!
Whether you’re looking for good Asian food, good drinks, or just a place to catch up with a friend, this is definitely the place to go.

A slow afternoon. 3 out of 6 plates were incorrect. The waitress made it seem like it was our fault… They redid the dishes, manager brought them out. Not a single apology. These were both kind people, but when you mess up, if you’re not make it right some way on the bill, at least apologize…
The Green curry was great, no one at the table recognized the noodle dishes as Thai. They tasted charred like bar-​b-​que. interesting I suppose… But not Thai.
We’ll definitely not be going back.

We went there for brunch while visiting some good friends in the Dallas area. The brunch menu had a nice twist on banh mi, omelettes, French toast, among other dishes. The brunch menu prices were pretty good — mostly below $ 10. We had the banana foster French toast and the brunch banh mi. They were both different and delicious, a nice twist from your traditional Asian cuisine. The atmosphere was nice and simple, the service was friendly and attentive.

This place has nice service and atmosphere, but if you are looking for authentic Thai/​Viet food, you won’t find it here.
Beef Phở — tastes nothing like the phở I know, and the portion for the large is not large
Drunken Noodles — delicious but the portion is so little they put cabbage on the bottom to make it seem more than it is
Pull Pork Bahn Mi — it’s okay
Ahi Tuna Taretare — best dish I got here

Great Thai food in west village! They have all the the Thai classics like drunken noodles, but also have a lot of speciality dishes that I haven’t seen at other Thai restaurants.
They start the meal off with complimentary sticky rice with a delicious spicy eggplant sauce.
I got the tropic Thai cocktail and it was good if you like fruity flavors. Definitely had a strong pineapple flavor, but I don’t mind my brunch cocktails a little fruity.
I got the iron pot green curry chicken. It comes with bell peppers, carrots, grilled chicken, and rice. I love green curry compared to yellow because it isn’t as sweet and doesn’t have as strong of a coconut flavor. This was a delicious dish that actually wasn’t super heavy because they give you a small scoop of rice that goes a long way and is packed with veggies.
My friends got the drunken noodles and Chiang Mai noodles. Both very good! Would recommend the Chiang Mai noodles if you like a sweeter curry.
Only reason I deducted a star was because of our waitress. She was really nice, but had gotten my order wrong and tried to blame it on me. I said iron pot green curry chicken, but she had put down the other iron pot dish and made it seem like I didn’t know what I was ordering. The manager came over to apologize and they were both nice, but just felt like they pointed the finger and didn’t offer to make it up in any way. Overall still a great restaurant though!

I love this place so much, I cannot believe I haven’t written a review yet. Everything on their menu is delicious, not one dish has disappointed me! Their ingredients are so fresh (I think they say they do not have a freezer on premises) and the flavors are vibrant and so flavorful. I love the ambiance of this place also. My favorites for appetizers are the spring rolls/​egg rolls, meatballs, chicken wings (seriously the BEST), shisito peppers, and the sampler plate (if you can’t decide). As far as entres, literally everything I’ve tried I have absolutely loved. The pad thai is
, and so is their fresh green curry, if you aren’t that adventurous. If you are adventurous, try their house specials. For dessert, you have to get the mango coconut sticky rice thing that comes in the coconut shell, very fresh and very delicious.
I have to say that their take out is never as tasty as dining in, but still good, just not *as* good. Their service is consistently great also. One time, i ordered over the phone close to closing, and the girl on the other end misheard my order for the soup. When I got to the restaurant, maybe 5 minutes before closing, we realized the miscommunication. The kitchen still whipped up the right order in minutes for me to take home. That is awesome.

Great staff! Great cuisine! The food is flavorful.
What I had:
Endless supply of complementary sticky rice– the bomb! Spicy eggplant sauce to go with it! Yum!
Lemongrass mussels– my favorite place to go now for mussels! Coconut, big mussels, lemongrass and its spicy level (I asked for the spiciest level but for me, it was good and not too spicy. I’m gonna see if they can make it even hotter next time) made the dish the main star in my opinion!
I did come back a second time just for the mussels but the second time around the mussels were not as big (can’t blame them since I think it’s hard to get mussels this time of the season)
The sampler platter: inviting and the variety is what attracts me. Spot on!
The peanut encrusted trout: I think the dish is a little of a hit and miss for me. I wonder if it’s because the strong flavor of the mussels over powered the fish that caused me to find the dish less flavorful. I love the texture, the peanuts and how good the trout tasted but I also did find it a little bland. I might come back another time to try it out– without ordering the Lemongrass mussels this time to see if I change my mind.
Great place

A close friend of mine invited me to dinner and choose this place… Not going to lie, since it’s located in West Village I wasn’t expecting much.
Yet, to my surprise it was presented beautifully and tasted delicious. I ordered the green curry, they serve it in what seems to be an old metal pot. With the rice already in the curry. Our waiter mentioned that that particular dish came out in a food network TV show. The only thing is their spice seems a level below others, so if you like your food spicy I suggested you turn it up!
One more thing, if you like ginger try the ginger tea… It’s awesome!!!

Snapshot: 4.4÷5 Food & Quality, ⁴⁄₅ Service and ⁵⁄₅ Price
If your in the mood for Phở, Glass or Fat Noodles, then go to Malai Kitchen. The Ahi Rolls are fantastic, the Chicken Phở is warming and filling.
The service was prompt and courteous for our group. The price is affordable especially for being in West Village.

Malai’s fusion original menu brought a new twist to Thai-​Viet food. I came with two friends and we cleaned our plates for brunch. Recommend reservations for a Sunday brunch, they have inside and patio seating.
Our order —
Bloody Mary: so yummy! Has a spicy powder that I recommend
Sticky rice with eggplant sauce: Delicious and on the house.
Chicken and egg congee: large portion of chicken and egg rice. My friend loved this dish and mentioned she always gets it.
Ban Minh French toast: Banana on top of a decadent thick french toast, not the best ever but definitely a different taste
Eggs Benedict with egg whites and tofu: The Eggs Benedict normally comes with poached eggs, but I asked for egg whites and added tofu. I would have opted for no tofu if I got this again… not sure what I was thinking. This dish was the perfect portion and would definitely recommend.
No room for dessert but the options looked awesome. An A+ restaurant in Dallas!

Yum! I love this place!
I’ve been here twice now and am offically hooked on this place!
To start, I suggest a reservation. I’ve been here both on the weekend and weekdays and they are usually always pretty packed although we got lucky and were seated right away.
I love how many things are veggie-​head friendly. Here are the things I have tried here:
Complimentary sticky rice with eggplant dip: Have I ever mentioned how much I love sticky rice? And it’s on the house!!! Can’t get any better!
The shishito peppers: perfectly cooked and salty with a really yummy sweet and sour dipping sauce!
Sweet and Sour Vegetable Soup: Small size is still a fairly good portion. Balanced taste with tons of veggies and tofu!
Pad Thai: Standard. Really good and a very hefty portion.
Drunken Noodles: Possibly some of the best I’ve ever had. Pair with some of their house hot sauce!!!
Iron Pot Green Curry Chicken: I didn’t eat any of the chicken but this was a table favorite. I tried the curry, it was delish!!! Wish it came with more rice.
Crispy Roti: If you like crispy, butter, chewy bread… this is a must try!!!
Both times I’ve been here I’ve left to darn full that I haven’t been able to try the desserts. Next time, I will though. I’ve seen the mango sticky rice and that is where it’s at!
Service is always friendly and prompt! I plan to be back here every time I am in Dallas!!! YUM!

Stopped by for the first time for their Vietnamese street food pop up! 50 cents for a pint of beer? Yes, please.
For those who are curious, Bia Hoi beer is one of the cheapest Vietnamese beers ever. Not sure about the price actually in Vietnamese but wouldn’t be surprised if the exchange rate makes it 50 cents USD. Tastes really refreshing and almost with a citrusy flavor.
Shared only one dish (lemongrass chicken with rice $ 9) but the flavors were really good. A toss between authentic and fusion, but they seem to know what they’re doing in that kitchen! One thing that I didn’t like about the pop up were the «seats» on the patio. While I understand that it’s supposed to mimic the streets of Vietnam, the plastic tables and chairs literally could only seat five-​year-​olds comfortably.
Shout out to some fellow Cornell alums! :) I’ll be back.

Stopped into Malai Kitchen after seeing it featured on a «best brunch» round-​up for Dallas. We were in town for a friend’s wedding and decided to check out this Thai-​Vietnamese fusion restaurant, which brought me back to the days when an aunt of mine owned a Thai-​Vietnamese restaurant of her own.
Service was «team style» so we had multiple servers coming to check on us, wait on us, provide water, etc. for us. It was an interesting concept but I never felt neglected, so that was good.
The Brunch menu is featured on the little stand on the table along with the Happy Hour specials (which are featured all day on Sundays). For $ 4, husband opted for a «Thai-​P-​A» — an IPA with hints of lemongrass and other flavors that he was pleasantly surprised by. We also ordered Vietnamese iced coffees which came out thick and strong.
I tried an appetizer — the «meatballs» and they came out with herbs and lettuce cups to wrap in. I thought the fish sauce was a bit too acidic (lots of lemon I imagine) but the meatball patty flavoring was pretty nice. For my brunch main, I went with the Thai Eggs Benedict and my husband opted for the Thai Omelette, which came with a side of breakfast potatoes and two slices of baguette toast.
I really enjoyed the flavor of the coconut drop biscuits that were served in lieu of the usual English muffins. For me, the shrimp was good but didn’t pack that punch of flavor for an Eggs Benedict that Canadian bacon usually provides with its saltiness, but I really liked it. There was a small hint of Thai Chili in the hollandaise but it wasn’t spicy at all.
Overall it was a memorable Sunday morning/​afternoon and husband and I both enjoyed the flavors of the meals that we had.

It was more like a 2.5, but the overall 4 stars they have is so misleading.
— Plenty of seating inside on a dreary, rainy evening, but without asking us our preference, the hostess led us outside to the muggy, covered patio, presumably because of my kid. We were seated within reach of a rowdy table enjoying the perks of Happy Hour, which looked like a great time, except when everyone on that patio, including said kid, can hear every foul word and topic. Nothing against those people, but shouldn’t a hostess have a little more situational awareness than that?
— See photo for Happy Hour appetizer specials. 2 for $ 9. We tried everything except the Spicy Edamame. The wings were decent; Imperial Rolls were ok, as were the meat patties; the chicken satay tasted mostly of burnt turmeric so I didn’t even try the pork one. Between 3 adults and 1 child, we were almost full, with room for dessert.
+ Coconut Cake was large and luscious! It came highly recommended by our server, and for good reason. $ 8
I see that many people enjoy their entrees, but when the appetizers aren’t very appetizing, I find it hard to believe that the dishes are delicious.

Service was absolutely exceptional and the promptness of food and drinks were perfectly timed. The traffic cocktail was absolutely delicious and not served into small of a glass but perfectly sized.
The spicy edamame lacked spice but cooked well.
The spicy Thai wings were delicious and perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of kick.
The red curry chicken was plenty for two and was good but certainly not the best. The chicken pad Thai was also generous in size and was perhaps my favorite dish. The coconut chicken soup was unbelievably creamy and had plenty of veggies and chicken.
Parking can be a bit of a hassle but there’s plenty to walk to before or after your meal.

Loved the location in West Village. The weather was beautiful when we went so we got a table on the patio outside.
Had a drink and some appetizers from the happy hour menu. The Vietnamese meatballs were ok, nothing special. I’m a big wing fan though and the Thai Chicken wings were really good. I love the sauce. The only downside is they were served in a bowl and there was a lot of sauce left over so the wings at the bottom got a bit soggy.

Second chance– completely worth it. They were so busy but the staff is a well oiled machine and they elegantly danced around each other keeping the flow moving.
The food was excellent, cocktails excellent.
Service excellent.

I last visited Malai for a large group dinner on a Thursday night. They had our table for 15 ready on time, and were quick to inquire as to what we’d like to drink while the rest of our group dribbled in.
The wines are reasonably priced and pretty good. Around $ 30 a bottle — nothing amazing but nothing that would make you sick either. The appetizers were all delicious and were perfectly portioned for sharing around the table. I had the sea bass for dinner. I was torn between that and the shrimp avocado salad. The sea bass was served on a bed of noodles in a slightly spicy broth. It was great, despite its relatively high price relative to the rest of the menu.
Overall a very pleasant meal!