Spicy cuisine at Mai Thai Restaurant

DOES the thought of Thai spicy food make your mouth water in anticipation? Then you should try the island’s newest destination for authentic Thai cuisine —  the Mai Thai Spicy Restaurant in San Antonio.

We were heading to another restaurant for a late lunch on Saturday noon when we saw this new restaurant with glass windows and huge plant and flower pots outside the original Royal Crown Insurance building. Turning back, we went inside and discovered a few customers who were also having a late lunch.
We had just missed the daily lunch buffet but a pleasant food staff gave us colorful menus for the ala carte lunch.
Almost every dish in the Mai Thai, or “The Thai Silk” restaurant are prefixed or suffixed with the word “spicy” and we were anticipating the kick in the tongue it will bring.

The place, however, does not shut out people who can’t stand spicy flavors because Mai Thai restaurant believes that Thai dishes need not be predominantly h

ot, but it should reach a perfect harmony in aroma and taste.

For non-Thai diners, do not be confused with the long and strange names in capital letters in the menu because there are English translations right below.

My buddies ordered Neau Phad Nam Hoy, or sautéed shredded beef with brocolli  and oyster sauce for $6.95.
I went for the Tom Yam Pla, which is spicy and sour fish soup for $6.95. Add another dollar and you will get a serving of rice.
The slices of Wahoo fish in my Tom Yam Pla swam in a bowl of hot soup with tomatoes, mushrooms, and topped with onion leaves, mint, and sliced red hot peppers.
Expecting the spiciest soup, I asked for more water in preparation to wash it up but I was pleasantly surprised that it was not THAT spicy and there was no need for extra handkerchiefs to wipe away your tears, just enough for you to “whistle” softly.
Mai Thai Spicy Restaurant opened about four months ago. Traditional Thai décor adorn the walls and windows, and albeit small, it offers diner a cozy ambiance.
Appetizers start from $5 to $7.95. Try the Saku Sai Moo, or pork in crystal balls served with coriander, lettuce and chili, or the Tod Mun Pla which is deep fried fish cakes served with cucumber in spicy sweet and sour sauce and more appetizers. Soups are $6.95 and you can have your choice of spicy and sour prawn, fish, or squid soup, or assorted seafood soup. You can also try their spicy chicken soup with coconut milk, or spicy and sour vegetable soup with fish.
Mai Thai’s selection of salads include spicy squid, beef, bean-vermicelli, prawns, assorted seafood, beef seasoned with Thai herbs of papaya.
Move on to the Thai Mai’s main entrées which starts from $6.95 and up. The main entrées include spicy fish, pork, crab, vegetables, chicken, or beef dishes cooked in tempting variations.
Mai Thai Spicy Restaurant also serves several choices of noodles in Thai style from $6.95 to $7.95, fried rice dishes with various toppings still at $6.95, and deserts. Phollamai Loy Kaew, or tropical fruit in jasmine syrup combined with crush ice, costs $2, while Phollamai ruam, or assorted fruits, is available for $7.
Mai Thai Spicy Restaurant prides itself in preparing cuisine from recipes handed down for decades but adjusted to suit today’s tastes and served in an authentic manner.
Give in to your craving for the aroma and flavors of a true Thai cuisine, try Mai Thai Spicy Restaurant in San Antonio across from Sunleader store.
Mai Thai offers lunch buffet for $7.99 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. Dinner is from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mai Thai does not accept credit cards yet. For reservations, call 235-3173. (This article was first published HERE.)