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Great food! Great atmosphere! Great service!
I love every dish I've tried at Malai Thai. I like to try new things, instead of always getting "pad thai". Food presentation is always nice, great flavors. I love the sticky rice in the individual baskets.
I hope Malai Thai sticks around, the Mission is starting to loose it's classics! Taken over by shi-shi places.
Oh no you didn't ruin Thai food for me!
Okay, so maybe I'm a Thai food snob- I'll recognize that. Being from Seattle, where the Thai food kicks ass, I thought that being in such a diverse town like SF it would be as easy to find good Thai food. Unfortunately, not at this place.
The peanut sauce was brown and crunchy (i.e. capital GROSS) and the pad see ew (my favorite noodle dish) was slimy and didn't have that delicious wok fried soy sauce taste to it. Overall, there was absolutely nothing special or yummy about this restaurant. And I'm super bummed because I love Thai food and its in my hood. I am giving it 2 stars instead of 1 because the dessert with ice cream, nuts, and coconut was pretty tasty.
It's got a cute decor and the rice comes out in nice Thai pots but otherwise I'll look for another place to satisfy my Thai food cravings.
They made the worst pad thai I have ever had. The noodles looked like they weren't fried but boiled, the chicken was dry and had the same color as the eggs. The tofu was soft and not deep fried. There were no distinguishing flavors other than an overkill of lime.
I also had their tom yum soup which was passable, but over salted.
If you can't do a pad thai right, you're not worthy of being called a thai restaurant.
This review is two months late.....but here goes.
I had the worst Chinese food in my life here!!!!! Yes, I know that it is a THAI restaurant, but nothing about our food was thai. Every dish was too mushy and contained brown color sauces??!! Hands down the WORST 'fresh spring rolls' (soggy and flavorless) I have ever had. Curry was not only absent from my veggie curry but again it looked too brown to contain anything but stock and maybe soy sauce. Not worth even going to the bathroom here.
I'm getting more acquainted with the restaurants in the Mission nowadays that I've been playing tennis at Dolores Park once or twice a week. After a couple hours of smashing the little yellow ball around, my tennis buddy and I manage to work up an appetite. We just wander a couple blocks over and have our pick of a wide array of culinary adventures!
Most recently, we landed at Malai Thai after 9 PM. We ordered a couple dishes:
* Pad See Eew with chicken -- definitely NOT like what I've had in other Thai joints. The flavor was not quite as smoky or salty/sweet as I'm used to. Not bad, but I probably wouldn't order it again.
* Lamb Curry with Eggplant -- a winner! Pleasantly spicy and the eggplant was cooked just right, in my opinion.
The service was attentive...and they were very conscientious about filling up our water glasses. Prices were reasonable...I think the bill was just around $25 after taxes and tip.
Big portions, affordable prices, and if you get the right dishes - delicious food.
I was craving Osha Thai the other day - but my dining partner decided to switch it up with Malai Thai.
A good call, because our bill was probably half the price - had we eaten at Osha, and it was exciting to try some new Thai dishes, such as Malai's yellow coconut curry with yams, their deep fried tofu, and their sea bass.
If you're looking to eat somewhere new in the Mission and are finding most places too busy to get a reservation - try Malai. They're never too busy, and if you study up the Yelp reviews carefully - you can settle on some exceptional dishes for exceptional prices.
I love the fact that you can get Unsweetened Thai Ice Tea here. Tastes great without the sugar overload. I also dig the Pad See Ew - not too greasy as is often the case at other Thai places. Really cheap too!
Service is nothing special, but you definitely get plenty bang for your buck at this spot. Excellent cheap grub in the Mission.
Mediocre thai food.
This restaurant lies on the busy strip of establishments on 16th Street between Valencia and Guerrero. An area where you can't go wrong with the food or bar. We got in around 6pm and it was very dead. My friend and I was given the recommendation of #80 Sauteed seafood on sizzling plate plus our own choice of seafood noodle (just like pad se eew with seafood) and we asked them for SPICY and consented on THAI SPICY.
Both dishes were really good and very spicy to the point my lips were getting numb and I couldn't talk, eat, or think straight (never possible anyways hehe). Water was our friend the whole night. unfortunately, we lost the taste since the spice overpowered the flavor afterwards. But to me, it was still good and cheap.
This place is so-so. They do seem to have more authentic Thai dishes and the flavoring of the dishes is very strong.
I was really craving some tom yum soup, so I ordered the version w/ chicken. There were huge chunks of tomato & ginger in it & the soup itself was really sweet. It was a pretty thick soup, for being tom yum. It wasn't really what I expected, but it was okay. I had some duck larb (minced duck w/ red onions & tons of cilantro over iceberg lettuce), which was really good (albeit, a bit unauthentic), but they totally skimped on the meat. Last, we had some garlic noodles which I didn't really like at all. The sauce was really weird (sweet garlicky black bean stuff) & the flat noodles had a strange texture -- not as soft as I would have expected.
All in all -- an ok choice if you're craving Thai. I'd definitely go back to try the other types of larb!
Yelp failed me on this place. Other reviews were good, so i went here and got mediocre at best. Pad thai-bland. Yellow curry with chicken and sweet potatoes, actually had yams (over cooked ones at that). egg rolls=soggy.
Wouldnt go here again or recommend it.
Okay this is a totally biased review. I've known the owners since I was a little girl. We used to live in the same apartment building and their kids are my friends.
With that said, I'm a picky MF when it comes to Thai food. We just had our annual Xmas dinner with the girls there and food was awesome. I'm in a food coma just thinking about it. If you ask for heat, they will give you heat so Wimps don't try. I love the beef salad and the seafood stir fry. We had so much food and I just kept on eating - I'm surprised I didn't pass out.
It is located in the Mission District right off 16th and Guerrero so Parking is a MF so beware. Other than that, good authentic food for a good price.
SPICY! yea that's what I have to say. Good little place for the price and food tastes good so far. I'll be back.
After getting over the stomach flu, I was seriously ready to chow down on some good Thai food after not being about to eat for a few days (so horrible..!). I came to Malai Thai about six months ago and I don't remember the food being so blah...did we just order all the wrong things? Don't know what the hell went wrong this time.
We started with the appetizer sampler, Thavi's Plate and it was supposed to come with four different appetizers. Why did everything end up being deep fried? Egg rolls, fried shrimp, fried chicken, and fried tofu. You'd think fried food couldn't taste that bad but it DID. Everything was just flavorless and bland, especially the egg rolls.
Okay..so entrees have got to be better right? WRONG. First we ordered the Pad Sa Ew. This usually has a 95% chance of tasting great but again, BLAND as hell.This dish is usually on the sweeter side yet all I tasted was the texture of the flat noodles and salt.
Last chance..the Gang Gai Keo Wan (#45) is a chicken curry dish. You get a choice of green, red, or yellow curry. We picked the yellow curry and ordered a side of brown rice. This curry is supposed to be cooked with coconut milk, one of the most delicious and essential ingredients for Thai curry, but tell me why this curry dish came out tasting like broth?! It was hella small too but I guess that's fine since I didn't even want to eat anymore after a few bites.
This was not what I imagined my first meal to be, after being sick and barfing up a storm for three days.
I'm actually kind of sad to give this place such a low rating since the service was really nice and the other Thai place across the street (Bangkok 16) sucks even more but honestly, Malai does not deserve that "People Love Us on Yelp" sticker on their front door. SO DECEIVING! I wouldn't call an overall rating of 3.5 stars love anyway.
Cheap, but tasty thai food. Friendly people, nice atmosphere restaurant.
Perfect place to eat or dinner with a friend. Not with a date.
I don't eat that often, and I'm seriously not picky. Especially when it comes to Asian food.
All I require is that the food be prepared within the past week and that it be comprised of at least two food groups.
Way. Not. Picky. Especially when someone else foots the bill. Especially when the tinies have (to quote my 2-year-old) "wice."
Either a) I'm in a crap mood b) the food was off tonight, or c) the food just ain't cutting it.
I vote "c." Generally I go to bed happy when my belly is full. Not tonight. Tonight I grip my poor belly as its gelatinous pad thai contents succumb to my seriously acidic stomach juices. Plus, the curry tasted like a dry boot.
Repulsive, I know. Just like my dinner.
it's clean and service is attentive. but don't expect amazing food.
we got take out from here and bf loved the bbq beef with broccoli (forgot the name), but my noodles were not good at all. way too salty, and the noodles were raw and kind of hard.
btw, i don't like soft tofu in my pad kee mao. should be fried!
I've been eating at this place for years. It's very dependable and friendly. The gang ped (curry duck) is about the best I've ever had anywhere - pretty consistently. As an inexpensive neighborhood restaurant you can't do much better than this.
I got the fresh tofu spring rolls... they were quite good but the rice paper was different than expected. Tasted like thin crepe. I'd recommend ordering a side of peanut sauce with it. (Incredible sauce.)
I also split the vegetarian tofu curry with my friend. She really liked it, I thought it was too sweet. (Common problem.) I love that they serve brown rice though.
Other comments.... service is really slow but the price is great! Good quality for a low price. Also this is one of my roommates' (all boys) fave spots... they like lots of food for cheap so they're into this.
Yes, my pad-thai surely was a bit bland but at these prices I left full and content.
The best taste in this place is the decor. Loverly!
Also very quiet. Just some traditional music playing very softly in back. Or maybe it was our bored server noodling on a guitar with one weirdly-tuned string for an hour (I wouldn't know the difference.) Either way it had nice peaceful ambiance. Made it great to have conversations with a great date who had all the info about what cool things there are to do in thailand, like visit the markets on the water where you buy out of boats. Great contrast to the 16th street karnival kreepshow, too.
We went early on a Friday evening. There was no wait and the place was at least 80% empty. The food came out so fast they might have used a time machine. That was cool. It was less cool that the wait staff was less than attentive especially with so few to serve. We weren't checked for anything and I waved someone down twice when we needed things (chili sauce and the check).
My food was all right. Not terrible, not memorable, except the cucumber salad was great. My green bean-cashew-tofu dish could have used more green and less fu, and more creative cooking to the fu too. The sauce was disappointingly bland. Heating it up with chili sauce made it an OK meal.
You can find better food at a more expensive place, but the price was generously modest and the ambiance was enchanting. Overall recommended.
Dining here twice over several months, what jumps to mind is the great service. First, you will get a pitcher of water, which is attentively filled once it reaches the half mark.
My friend commented that the food was a bit slow to come out, but I prefer it be made fresh and brought to our table instead of scooped out of a pot or "nuked" before it is served. Clearly the chef spends time on each dish.
There is a nice variety of non fried veggie dishes and the portions are generous.
4 stars for consistency in extraordinary service, extensive menu, fresh food, location, and ambiance.
Service: Staff sat our group down quickly and accommodated all of our requests quickly. They are fast and friendly. 1 out of 1 star.
Food: I ordered the Pad Thai and was very disappointed. The dish was very bland and dry. I am use to the Pad Thai having burst of different flavors. However, my coworkers dishes were pretty good. Maybe, I'll try another dish sometime. 0 out of 2 stars.
Price: A plate of Pad Thai was will not hurt your wallet. I don't remember the exact cost but it cost around 10 for the whole meal after tax and tip. 1 out of 1 star.
Wow Factor: The restaurant is nicely decorated with the whole Thai theme. It makes the experience more enjoyable. For some strange reason, there was a huge scooter at one of the tables which was odd. 1 out of 1 star.
Pork Pad Sieu (sp?) is my favorite Thai dish. Once in a while I order something else, but since I discovered Pork Pad Sieu, it has become like comfort food for me.
Maybe I've been spoiled by Neecha Thai with their super flavorful, nearly 2-inch wide noodles--or even King of Thai Noodle, but my favorite dish here was dry, bland and mushy...even the color was off. It was like whoever made it didn't know how.
Everyone else's was good. Surprisingly, I like the Vegetarian Green Curry the best...and that dish with the Shrimp and peanut sauce wasn't bad.
I've eaten here a several times since I first moved to the city back in '01, and it was decent...so I won't call it a complete loser, but I just need to order something different if I go here again.
Came here since we were turned away by Andalu - which we're still puzzled by when it didn't seem packed full of patrons. We were told it'd be about 1.5 hours wait.
Anyhow, Malai Thai was there to refuel us. Friendly and quick service. Food was tasty.
*3.5*
Decent Thai in the Mission. We came here for an hour before we had to go a concert at Mission Dolores and we didn't even need to tell them we were in a rush, they were just so fast! We got the green beans with shrimp and the pad thai and seriously, we got our food in five minutes. It was really tasty too especially the pad thai. And the prices are really great, everything was under ten bucks. And the restaurant was pretty nice too! Not your usual dive. A great, quick and cheap bite.
For a long while, I was in search for the best Thai Restaurant in the city. I think I have found the Thai restaurant for me! Malai Thai has never let me down from the service to the incredible food.
This place is family owned, and you will see the almost always see the same friendly faces to serve you. They are always friendly and easy to talk to. I also like how the place looks. It isn't fancy, however, it has that "nice home comfort" feel.
Food = A+++ ... The Yellow Coconut Curry is simply magnificent. Also, you have to try Number 84(I think, I forget the name). It is deep-fried fish sauteed with basil, onions, peppers, and a chili sauce! Just amazing! You can also never go wrong with their Pad Thai or Pad Si Ew.
I love this place.
SF Food Inspection Score: 96
MMMmmmme likey.
This place is all kinds of cute cuz when I came in to grab lunch, the hostesses boys were all doing homework with little milk mustaches.
Okay so I know that has nothing to do with the food there but it made the ambiance really homey and comfy.
But the food is very good. I got their yellow chicken curry with veggies and it was just the perfect amount of spice. Enough to clear my sinuses but not enough to make it inedible. And they gave me lots of rice. I really wanna try different dishes there. Anyone know of any?
It was a little pricier than I expected, just cuz I'm used to King of Thai, I spent $13 on rice, curry, and a thai iced tea. But it was definitely worth it.
I was really hungry and exhausted about an hour ago and I yelped a bunch of nearby Thai places. Of the ones that delivered and were open on a Monday, I chose Malai. I ordered the yellow vegetarian curry... they call it something else but basically its the one that has cabbage, broccolli, mushrooms, tofu, squash. I also ordered rice.
It came to $8-$9. The phone service was polite and best of all my order came in 15 minutes! The curry sauce was really good with a nice amount of spice. The cabbage and mushrooms were cooked perfectly but the broccolli and squash were a little overdone.
I wavered a little bit between 3 and 4 stars but as far as deliver goes this was definitely a 4. I had to ask myself: would I order from here again? And the answer would be yes. Cheap, very quick, large portion, overall very tasty despite a couple overcooked veggies.
i don't purport to be an expert in Thai food, and I must admit the one time I've been to Bangkok and Phuket I was on a commercialized tour (meaning horrible non-authentic food). However, I've tasted enough Thai dishes in SF, and dishes in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, as well as Chinese dishes (in China, Hong Kong, Canada, and SF) to know when something is just a bit wrong.
The food here isn't bad. It's just not Thai. For example - I got Pad See Ew. from a Thai foodie blog: "There are only three basic components in Pad See Ew, your protein of choice (chicken, pork, beef, or even shrimp) plus an egg (you can skip it if you want), Chinese broccoli, and Sen Yai or wide flat rice noodle." i knew this already but as I'm not a Thai local I needed confirmation from a more informed source.
What I got instead was like Thai influenced, Americanized Chow Fun (not even authentically Chinese!): flat rice noodles, strange flavor sauce, western broccoli, fried tofu (in place of the choice protein), NO egg (despite our request to leave it in), and zucchini?! where did my pad see ew go? still good, but so sad.
Delicious! Good portions and decent service....sitting at the window was a plus!
My boyfriend and I shared the coconut, lemongrass, mushroom and shrimp soup. The broth was fatastic.
For our entree's we ordered the chicken, yam and curry dish, along with the beef with bamboo shoots.
I really liked the chicken, yam and curry, I love all 3 ingredients from the get go so you can't really mess it up. Beef and bamboo was surprisingly good as well. Not a dish I would of picked but I am glad I got to try it.
We also shared a Thai Iced Tea....yum!
I will definitely come back, it was reasonably priced. With rice and tip, we spent $36.00.
My co-workers and I ate here today and I was pleasantly surprised. I've been avoiding this place for years due to the cheesy faux-temple exterior and cliche Thai decorations inside, but the food was totally decent (we ordered family style w/ soup, rice, curry, and a few classic dishes). The one dish I ordered 'Thai spicy' was actually pretty spicy. Best of all, the food doesn't have that cloying sweetness that you find in most Americanized Thai places.
Perhaps it's because my expectations for a Thai restaurant in the mission are so low, but I was pleasanty surprised and will probably go back here again.
Cheap, authentic and delicious. With a surprisingly extensive beer list.
It's the portion size that really sells me here. The chicken pad thai, albeit simple with the noodles and sauce splashing, is fucking huge and I usually have to split it into half to save for later. Plus, I am a huge sucker for Thai iced team, and Malai makes a good creamy one.
The service is decent, but in proximity to my house and to the area, it works. Additionally, if you get a chance to sit in a window, the people watching opportunity is excellent.
Closest to home so this is our standard Thai take-out joint. There is nothing about it that I constantly CRAVE like with our neighborhood Thai place down in SD but it is solid, it doesn't disappoint. Between my hubby and I we've probably tried almost everything on the menu.
One of my favorite things here is very simple but has outstanding flavors... the #41 Oak Gai Ka Tiem: BBQ white meat chicken marinated in herb and vegetable served with spicy lime sauce ($7.95). Great healthy option if you can't decide what to order.
Typical inexpensive Thai restaurant.
Most dishes around $7-9.
Food was pretty good. No complaints.
They charge extra for rice.
For the location, surprisingly pleasant interior decoration.
Too many Thai places in this city have what i call "white tablecloth syndrome." They put a nice white tablecloth over the tables and charge you a few extra dollars per dish. Malai is thankfully not one of those places.
If anything, its the opposite. The family that owns the place seems to live here as well. On a weekday night, 2 of the tables were taken over by kids doing homework. One of them even has a computer on it. So wouldn't take anybody here on a first date or anything.
But the place isn't crowded, has good Thai food, and decent prices. A nice, quiet, out of the way place to have a quiet dinner. Or if you have a large group, they have plenty of room.
Definitely worth checking out.
3.5 stars
Wonderful mango and sticky rice and great veggie crispy rolls.
Otherwise, fairly run of the mill Thai food. But I really like that it's close to my house and they have take-out orders ready quickly. And the prices are super-reasonable.
The green curry tofu is actually pretty tasty too.
Fried tofu was a good texture. The red tea kept coming and always tastes good.
Not enough peanut sauce, which was mediocre anyway.
The beef was OK - the slight chew factor detracted from it. And, the red curry coconut sauce was suprisingly thin and not very flavorful (maybe throw in a couple pinches of salt). The spinach and garlic sauce was blah - no flavor.
Service was attentive, but slow.
Overall, underwhelming.
A great place to go if you've fainted and are in need of food. Forreal. (See my "Body Manipulations" review for a bit of backstory.)
I spent the summer in Bangkok, living in a not-touristy part of the city, and Malai Thai took me back a bit. Sure, the food was Americanized (read: overly sweetened), but the staff wore "I heart the King!" yellow shirts, which earns them another star. (Hey, I've never seen those in the US.)
Cute interior decorations, too. The big gold candle in the center of the restaurant looks like those made by worshippers at Thai wats, one brass spoonful of wax at a time. More bonus points.
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