Restaurant on a Page - Mai Thai, Auckland

Mai Thai

Cnr Victoria & Albert Street

Auckland Central

Ph: 09 366 6258

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=====BEFORE THE MEAL

I see a place on the corner. Painted outside are words saying the restaurant has won a good food award in 2007. I see the words "famous thai cuisine", so I give it a shot. Once I am seated, I am immediately hit with the reknown good service this place gloats about. I feel comfortable within the authentic Thai setting, with the traditional looking table ware, and thai decor. I want this food to be exceptional so I can write a really good review. I order from the separate "signature dish" menu

=====THE MEAL

Appetiser - Tod man pla - light curry flavoured fish cake - $9.50

The good
- Authentic thai flavour
- Not too oily

The bad
- nothing that special

Main - Gaeng ped yang + rice - roast duck with red curry and thai lychee - $23.50

The good
- Authentic thai flavour
- range of flavour - hot, spicy, salty, sweet (lychee), sour (pineapple)

The bad
- way too salty
- duck quiet chewy (overcooked)


=====THE RATING

5 - Exceptional
4 - Great
3 - Average
2 - Mediocre
1 - Never again

=====THE VERDICT
Worth it / Come again?
A bit pricey for what it was, but food was pretty authentic and the service was excellent. The lady saw that I was reacting to the heat of the curry, and asked if it was too spicy. I said "a little but it's not bad". She then proceed to fill up my glass whenever it was empty (probably had 3 or 4 glasses when eating the curry), and she told me at the end that next time I can ask to make the curry less spicy. I'll be coming back to try other items on the menu