Maile’s Thai Bistro – Honolulu, HI

Always a bit hesitant when I have a review to write and it’s more on the blah side than on the praising side, but I figure you come to my blog for honesty and pictures so here we go. We were feeling Thai one weekend and decided to give Maile’s Thai a go, usually we go to smaller Thai restaurants and love it. How do I explain the feel I got from Maile’s, more commercialized? I guess I’m used to small mom and pop restaurants and this one felt a bit too fancy for my taste, and when it’s a fancy Asian restaurant, I get a bit hesitant about how good the food will be. I think you know where this is going…

Thai Fried Rice with Shrimp | $16.90
rice fried with egg, onions, and green onion in Thai spices

Can never go wrong with Thai fried rice. I loved this dish, it was definitely my favorite. I need to learn how to make my own Thai fried rice already.

Chicken Satay | $11.90
chicken breast kebobs marinated in curry spices, sautéed with coconut milk and served with peanut sauce (4 skewers)

Ehhh…chicken breast already throws me off. Is it usually done with chicken breast? I’m too much of a dark meat gal, this was okay but not great. Would not recommend.

Yellow Curry (Kaeng Leung) with Chicken | $14.90
house yellow curry sauce, coconut milk, potatoes, carrots and onions

Basic curry, edible but nothing special. Good enough to eat but wouldn’t get this again.

Thai Short Ribs | $15.90
cross cut beef short ribs marinated in a sweet soy ginger sauce grilled and finished with Chinese parsley and green onions

Not to say Koreans own short ribs but I was surprised to be a short ribs dish at this restaurant. Tasted good but it tasted like Teriyaki-ish, it was good but not Thai to me. Well why did we order it then? We just wanted meat okay? Was a good dish! Wish I had a bowl of rice with this.

Recipe: Nui Xào Bò (Vietnamese Macaroni)

Yes, another TikTok recipe but from a legit Vietnamese family so let’s not make fun. This was incredibly easy to make and SO good. The sauce is so nice and savory and OMG, did you know this trick? I’ve been cooking my pasta all wrong all my life. This recipe told me to boil up the water, add the pasta in and boil it on high for about 2 minutes and then shut off the heat and let the macaroni sit in the pot for about 12 minutes and it will cook perfectly. I placed the lid back onto the pot slightly ajar. Am I the only one who has “cooked” the pasta…like stand there and keep stirring and keep trying to make sure the water doesn’t boil over? Ridic! Anyway, I’m using this trick for all pasta now. I think spaghetti noodles can do with maybe 10-11 minutes of sitting. Ugh, so much easier.

Nui Xào Bò (Vietnamese Macaroni)

Ingredients:
1 lb of Macaroni (16 oz – 1 box)
2 T Oil
2 T butter (separated into 1 T pats)
1 T chicken bouillon (3 small cubes for me)
1 lb of meat, sliced thin (shabu shabu type) or ground beef
1 C green onions (cut into 2 inch strips)

Sauce: 
⅓ C Sugar
¼ C Oyster Sauce
¼ C Soy Sauce
½ C Dark Soy Sauce
Stir sauce ingredients and microwave in a microwave safe dish for one minute. Set aside.

Directions:
Mix chicken bouillon with meat and set aside. 

Cook macaroni according to package instructions. I boiled my macaroni for 2 minutes on high heat, shut off the heat, placed the lid (slightly ajar) on the pot and let the macaroni continue to cook in the residual heat for 12 minutes. Drain, set aside.

Heat a pan with 2 T of oil. Add cooked macaroni, 7 T of the sauce and 1 T of butter, mix. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat pan with remaining 1 T butter, add meat and 1 C of green onions and cook for 2 minutes (or until meat is cooked through). Add macaroni and mix well, add more sauce if desired.

Notes:
The sauce ingredients make a LOT. I think it could be enough for 3 recipes