Maile’s Thai Bistro

One of my favorite restaurants when we lived in Hawaii Kai! The curries are very good and of course the spring rolls, calamari, pad thai… definitely a place you have stop by when you’re on that side of the island!

i really like maile’s, and i always have, but since i last wrote, i’ve discovered something that is worth writing an update. the cheesecake. apparently, there’s a lady that works out of her home and makes cheesecake only for maile’s and assaggios. i think the flavors vary, but most of the time, they have new york, heath bar, and kahlua. my absolute favorite is the kahula cheesecake. it’s got an oreo crust and the filling is so creamy, but not too rich. it’s perfect, and it’s almost embarrassing how much cheesecake i eat there. a must try

Located in HK Towne Center, this is one restaurant I’ve failed to try, but was lucky enough to try it with my work people for a New Year’s lunch.
We had spring rolls, Thai Garlic Chicken, Sweet Sour Shrimp… Calamari, Vegetable Tempura, Beef Pad Thai… and few other dishes. The Thai Garlic Chicken, however I remember because that was pretty spicy, but it may not be for others.
The service was pretty good and the food I thought was a bit better than others I’ve tried like Phuket Thai. It might be a little on the spendier side, but overall I’d go back again for a special occasion or something.

I was pleasantly surprised to come across this little hidden gem in Hawaii Kai that serves up some very flavorful and amazing thai food. Friends brought me here for dinner and it is definitely a place I’d check out again!
We ordered the maile rolls which are essentially their spring rolls which could taste the fresh ingredients they used and the peanut sauce complemented them well with just enough flavor. The fried chicken with the thai dipping sauce was a perfect blend of hawaiian and thai influences that just kept me eating them up!
The phad thai offered just the right blend of flavors and the shrimp complemented the well-​cooked noodles. The yellow curry was extremely flavorful and boasted just enough heat for the spice lovers and just a little too much for those spice avoiders!
The one lowpoint on the menu was the seafood medley which was simply ok… it didn’t wow me, but it also did not disappoint.
Great ambiance and good service! Little crowded on our table so go with a group of four or less!

My boyfriend and I just tried this place for the first time and we LOVED it!
We got there before 6pm so there were lots of seating. Our server (I think his name was Eddie) was very nice and attentive … we never had an empty glass. We only ordered 3 items, but they were all delicious! Spring rolls — tasty with an awesome dipping sauce … Yellow Curry — so creamy and delicious with a hint of heat. Perfect with the Sticky Rice … Pad Thai — YUMMY!
I can’t wait to go back! :)
*note* my only tiny, little complaint would be that no one told us good bye when we left. we left a really good tip so it would have been nice to hear a «thank you! come again!»

Everything was delicious… and the desserts are out of this world. I never know which one to pick! I think the Sticky Rice Sundae is my favorite!

I’ve been to Maile’s twice and both times the food was excellent. I love their panang curry and their green curry. The seafood with vegetables is really good too. Maile is so nice too. She will walk around visiting the tables and I’ve even seen her cooking in the back.
Go give it a try.

Pros:
Great Thai Food
Full Selection Bar and Thai Beer
Nice Décor
Right by the Bay
Cons:
There’s one waiter seems very stuck up. The White dude waiter was cool though.

Our main gripes with this place:
The host sucked. No smile, no hello, just raised eyebrows as if to say– you eating here o’ wot? No good-​bye or thanks upon leaving either.
The food– not a chili or clove of garlic in sight. The bf calls it dumbed-​down Thai food. Our server didn’t ask us how spicy we wanted the food. I guess he just assumed that all haoles are pussies when it comes to Thai food. C’mon man– it’s gotta have SOME heat.
The owner also owns Assagio’s Hawaii Kai. Dear God, if I had known THAT I would’ve said NEVER MIND!
The pluses– nice décor (but who really cares), our server was nice, and the food was good, just not what I expect from Thai food. Next time we get a Thai craving (which is often, especially the boy!) we’ll be going elsewhere. To Opal’s if at all possible! See next review please.

Recently tried this place near the Costco out in Hawaii Kai. It has a nice, modern, slightly upscale atmosphere. But it’s Hawaii and so it was okay that one in our party walked in with shorts, t-​shirt, and slippers. We enjoyed all of our dishes, pad siew with beef, choy sum oyster sauce, thai garlic chicken, and chicken panang. With the choy sum being the most notable as it was served crisp and flavorful. They also make the best prik nam pra that I’ve had so far in Hawaii! Prices are a little bit higher than most of the Thai restaurants I’ve tried so far on Oahu with most of the dishes in the $ 9 — $ 10 range, while the seafood and chef’s specials were in the $ 15 — $ 25 range. I’d definitely like to go back and try other dishes.

After reviewing other people’s reviews on this web site, we decided to try it on a Friday night. We were greeted by two hostesses politely and seated promptly. Service was good — they had a lot of waiters and waitresses for the number of tables. Nice atmosphere with a modern interior design. Good wine and beer selection for a Thai restaurant.
Now the important part, ranked from best to worst:
1. Fried Calamari — Good — Hot, crispy, light batter
2. Pad Thai — Average — Noodles a little over cooked, few ingredients
3. Drunken Clams — Poor — Little flavor, too much milk
4. Beef Salad — Poor — «junk»
Conclusion: I would agree with the other review that the Thai restaurant in Kalama Valley has better taste. I would disagree with the other reviews that the food is «Great» and those who gave it a 4 or 5 star. I eat at various Thai restaurants four to five times a month and their food is similar to many of the others, but this restaurant doesn’t come close to my reference restaurant (Siam Garden). If you want «great» Thai food, you should try Siam Garden’s Basil Stir Fry with Fish, their Green Curry with Chicken and their Pad Thai Noodles with Seafood.

Prices & quality of food here are GREAT. Staple items like curry and Pad Thai are $ 5– $ 8 less per entrée here than places like Keo’s or Spices. Portions are fairly generous too.
A few things to keep in mind:
1. During peak hours, you’ll probably need a reservation because they have pretty limited seating.
2. FAMILY STYLE dining. Dishes are meant to put into the middle and shared… if that sounds iffy to you, Asian dining of any kind is probably not your style.
Everything on their menu is made from scratch when you order it. No pre-​made curry sauces here! It meant that the wait was a little longer… but so worth it.

Huge disappointment, but then again wasn’t expecting much from an asian bistro place. The word «bistro» mixed with anything asian just doesn’t work. Décor = nice, staff = inattentive.
Shaken Beef: horrendous. The menu says filet mignon cuts, on a layer of lettuce and other stuff. I was livid — I can’t remember the last time I had to chew thru my filet mignon, and it was on a bed of thinly sliced won bok cabbage, with a peanut type of sauce (!!!). Long story short, this is not anything close to shaken beef, regardless of this «bistro» style type of food. (At least make it good, right?)
My favorite Shaken Beef = Bac Nam on restaurant on King/​Piikoi. It is made properly, on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and the perfect sauce. Sorry, didn’t mean to name drop but hey. And if someone can suggest a better one, please do!
Jasmine Rice: Okay, who serves white steamed rice in an open face bowl on the table? Maile’s Bistro does! I was mortified. The poor rice sat there, getting obliterated by the cold a/​c, wishing it was in a nice bamboo rice container. We even questioned if it was really jasmine rice because the fragrance wasn’t there (hmm, was it even really filet mignon? *wink wink*)
Service was bad. They did seat us right away when we walked in, but after all our food came out (can’t even remember the appetizer, it was so boring), we were still waiting around for the rice. I tried to get our server’s attention but he was busy chit chatting w/​another server. it was actually the other server who probably read my lips, «Not sure when we’ll get our rice. I think our guy is busy on the side talking over there.», so ultimately we somehow got our server’s attention. (shame on him though). This ultimately was the bowl of rice I mentioned earlier. *groan*
After the bill was paid and we were walking towards the door, we did not get acknowledged. Am I asking for too much to expect a simple «Thank you»? Seeing 3 of the restaurant’s girls huddled on the side, I assumed they were doing business or work talk, but upon passing it was gossip or small talk! It was obvious we were leaving and out the door we went, with absolutely no gratitude for our patronage. *shrug* I guess they lost this customer and now I’m spreading the word. Ha!

A new thai place in Hawaii Kai, but seemed not as good Thai Valley Cuisine in Kalama Valley.
I really regret never going to the Chef’s Table while it was at this location. So, I decided to give the place a try. The curiosity of a new restaurant in Hawaii Kai was too much to resist; but I left a little hesitant to make a second visit.
The interior was commendable for a mall/​neighborhood location. It had a nice sleek look to it, and had a tastefully designed bar for the neighborhood locals to hang out. So, it all seemed promising, and then the food came.
We started with the Shaken Beef. I smelled the peanut sauce before it even hit the table: the beef was swimming in it. It was way over the top if you ask me; and what’s with the peanut sauce: I’ve never seen it prepared that way. The menu said it was made with Filet Mignon, but it was more like rib-​eye at best. All of it on top of a bed of cabbage (not even lettuce): I see they took a page out of the L&L preparation book.
I’ll go into the other dishes, but I was already turned-​off by the time they came. The Evil Beef was average at best: Nothing to sing about. I’ve had much better versions of this dish around town. Pad Thai was probably the only thing that I can say had anything good going on; but itself was nothing special. Even the rice I had problems with. It was supposed to be Jasmine Rice, but it was more like calrose rice. I know there is a global shortage of long-​grain rice, but don’t misrepresent what you are serving.
Our waiter was really personable, and was the best thing going about the service. When we left, the staff was too busy talking to other people, and they didn’t even say they expected «good-​bye» or «thank you» as we walked out.
A disappointing experience, but the place could have potential if they fix some of the problems.

A meal from a humble street cart, a few blocks from the Chiang Mai Night Market, has been one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life. Maybe it was the din of the street, or the dizzying Tuk-​Tuk exhaust, but something about dining on that plastic kiddie table made that Water Spinach with Tofu magically memorable.
And then there’s the tastefully decorated, clean and uncluttered, white tablecloth Thai Bistro that is Maile’s.
Because we like to try as many dishes as possible, my girlfriend and I usually wind up ordering way too much food when doing Thai. And, as usual, our table was too small to accomodate our Tom Yum, Spring Rolls, Thai Spicy Clams, Ong Choi Tofu, and Rad Na. Problem? Nope, our server kindly pulled over the next table so that our feast could properly continue.
I enjoyed the Tom Yum with tomatoes in it, but I found it to be slightly lacking in acidity. Also, the Veggie Spring Rolls were great (I prefer the thinner ones like these because I like the skin on the roof of my mouth to stay there, and the chubby ones retain their heat waaay too long), but, as Love S. mentioned in her review, the lettuce, cucumber, and mint promised to us on the menu were merely garnish.
The Thai Spicy Clams, which kicked off round two, were so delicious that I spooned up the remaining sauce like soup, but they weren’t the least bit spicy. And, alas, the Ong Choi with Tofu didn’t quite meet the ridiculously high standard of the street cart. Also, I didn’t notice any crispy garlic (possibly another menu discrepency), but the flavor and texture of the «Chinese Watercress» (that’s a new one on me) were right on the mark. The noodles (mistakenly, our only starch) were very delicious, but I prefer the thinner noodles of Pad Thai. Personal tastes aside, the thick, chewy chow fun was perfectly complemented by the broccoli, egg, and a very flavorful cornstarch «gravy.»
A nice, cold Chang beer went down quite nicely with the meal, as well, but dessert sounded pretty anticlimactic, so we passed.
The service, despite it obviously being staff meal time, was friendly and helpful, and the food was great. Also, the reasonably priced, decent portions allowed us variety without overindulging (or having leftovers marinating in polystyrene during the 10:15 showing of Slumdog Millionaires). All in all, a memorable, though perhaps not completely magical, dining experience.

If you can get over the fact that your only view through the huge glass windows are Panda Express and the parking lot, this is probably the best Thai food I’ve had in Hawaii so far. I love the fact that it looks clean and posh because if I’m shelling out close to 50 bucks for lunch, I want to feel as though the experience was worth it (it was)! I know Liz T. doesn’t like anything burnt, but i do, so the fact that the pad Thai was a little burnt only made it more like-​able for me.
The peanut sauce that comes with the stuffed chicken wings definitely need work, because it tasted and looked a bit oily. Other than that, lunch was delicious.

3.5 stars. This bistro is so modern and classy you’d think you were going for French instead of Thai food. I was impressed with the nice bathroom, which is representative of the kitchen IMO.
Dave H. and I had the Stuffed Chicken Wings, Evil Beef, and Pad Thai. We would’ve ordered more off the menu (as we usually do on first visits), but we went on a cupcake binge at Cake Couture before lunch.
The Stuffed Chicken Wings were oily but ok – I liked the stuffing which was reminiscent of spring rolls, but the dipping sauce wasn’t very tasty. The Evil Beef was good – tender beef and sweet bamboo, but I like the version at Mekong II (
) way better. More creamy and flavorful there. The Pad Thai was great, but it was a little dry and there were pieces of char – I’m not a big fan of carcinogenic noodles.
This place has a lot of potential and just needs to straighten out the kinks that come with a new restaurant. Chiang Mai Thai Cuisine (
) remains my old standby until then. =)

After a somewhat disappointing meal at Sansei last night, we decided to visit my friend Maile and have a birthday celebration at her Thai Bistro.
A list of what we ordered
Burn your okole papaya salad.
(get the mild unless you’re adventurous)
Stuffed Chicken wings
(one thing me and the chicken had in common, we both were stuffed)
Fried Chicken
(fricken delicous, do they sprinkle crack on this?)
spring rolls
(sorry Mai, I like to wrap my spring rolls with lettuce, why no lettuce?)
summer rolls
(4 big plump fat ones to an order, very generous)
shrimp pad thai
(perfection, small portion but very good, need more noodles)
beef pad see yew
(delicous sauce broccoli and beef is tender, I loved it)
drunken clams
(I could’ve drank the broth it was so fricken good, if it would’ve got me drunk, I would have, trust me)
tofu ongchoy
(beautiful veggies cooked perfectly with a nice crunch)
evil shrimp
(a must order, really good, no I mean evil)
chicken panang
(definitely my favorite, not oily like other Thai places)
appetizer steak
(very tasty, easy to share bite sized pieces, perfect for kids)
steak entrée
(perfectly seasoned, nicely done outside. perfectly red inside & tender)
soybeans
(great appetizer to start off the night, garlic is finger lickin good)
Tofu
(delicous sauce, but how does one f*ck up tofu?)
chicken long rice soup
(didn’t try but the kids loved it)
Everything surpassed my expectations. My new favorite Thai restaurant on the island. Why go to Phuket Thai, this place is 3 min. from my house, service is great, everything’s priced right. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed. Make a reservation, it gets busy. I promise I’m not saying this just because she’s a friend, it really is that good.

FINALLY some good thai food in Hawaii~! my hubby & i tried this place today after craving some thai food for awhile (since we moved from cali, we havent found any decent thai around the island) but let me tell you, OMG this place wayyyy exceeded our expectation! super clean & posh, super friendly & best of all, SUPER freakin TASTY food! we ordered thai iced tea, tom yum soup, thai fried chicken & pad thai~ they were all excellent A+ we are definitely returning~ like SOON! the owners seem very friendly & know what theyre doing (obviously since they own assagio) we will def. be frequenting this place~ one of the top restaurants in hawaii!!! so glad its down the street from where we live! finally some REAL food! the only disappointing thing was that they didnt have thai bbq chicken on the menu & thats why we ordered the fried chicken instead but it was even better~ since it has the same sauce anyways! the chicken was very crisp on the outside & super moist on the inside~ and large portions too! *update: we got Maile’s to-​go today again & evthing was excellent except the chicken was a bit different this time~ less moist & more dry + they gave all wings which we didnt like… last time there was no wings, just chicken meat~ more like tenders? whatever its still SUPER delicious!!!