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The Mali Thai is a bright newcomer to the ever expanding Reading restaurant scene, and is one of the brightest gems in the sparkling crown in and around this part of Berkshire. My visit there within the first two weeks of its opening has certainly been one of the highlights of recent restaurant dining.
Owner Paul personally designed the interior of the restaurant, situated but a few short strides from the Hexagon Theatre, one of the cultural centres in the area. The colour co-ordinated interior is complemented by bright curved stainless steel, glass and modern orange lighting. The dark wooden tables host modern flower holders, filled with water and finished with stainless steel. The colourful and well stocked bar looks out on the ground floor whilst the balcony affords diners a magnificent view from the spacious tables overlooking the downstairs diners. The little touches like the hand shaped door pushes were still being observed as I left the restaurant, adding to the fascination of the Mali Thai.
The first difficulty encountered was with the menu, there were so many choices it was difficult, if not impossible to settle on a particular dish. We settled on the Aromatic Crispy Duck, a starter designed and certainly appropriate for two people, and luckily for me my dining companion shared my culinary interests and appetite. The duck was served on a very stylish large white square platter, complete with perfectly presented spring onions and cucumber, neatly sliced for our convenience. The Hoi Sin sauce came in a matching white china dish, whilst the very hot pancakes were served in a stainless steel container, keeping them hot until the very last one had been eaten.
The duck was cooked well, moist with a crunchy, crispy edge, the marriage of the duck, vegetables and sauce, covered by the pancake, is one of the great delights of this world, and served in this style and manner this was a magnificent start to the evening.
The quality of the food was no surprise, the surroundings had already indicated that the Mali Thai left little to chance; the attention to detail was evident in al that was in front of me, the furnishings, the cutlery, the service and even the menu, style allied to a polished service designed to ensure the customer delights in the visit. This was underlined when Paul suggested I try the House wine, a Monsoon Valley Thai White, a journey previously unknown to me!
Surprise! What a surprise. There was a genuine appreciation here of a wine I certainly knew little, no, knew nothing about it whatsoever. I was almost embarrassed to be saying to Paul how surprised I was to be enjoyed a dry White Thai wine, one emanating from the largest and oldest wine region in the country, Monsoon Valley covers more than 10,000 acres in the sub tropical climate of the Chao Phraya Delta. Traditional varieties are grown here on the
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Alan McColm is QFOL's Restaurant Critic and Travel reviewer. Alan is working all over the country ... more
