no malai-se here.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the lucky group of people who were invited to the preview of Malai last month (it helps to know the right people!). I was not only delighted to try a new place, but intrigued to see what was taking on the former Tom Tom space. (If you remember, they ran into a little, shall we say, fiscal problem.)

Upon rounding the corner, I immediately noticed that they gave the facade a colorful facelift complete with inverted umbrellas (see picture on right). Dark beams were replaced with white ones and covering taken off for a more open-air feel.

Once inside, more surprises awaited. We had an assortment of drinks and all were as delicious as they were different. First I had the lemongrass fizz which was light and refreshing - the perfect drink for summer weather on their breezy patio. It had St. Germain in it but not so much to overtake the drink. I followed that up with a Vang Veing which is what I’d describe as a Moscow Mule meets mojito - another great patio drink. I had to stop there for fear of not being able to walk back to my friend’s place across the street.

We were also given tastes of some of their specialties including grilled satay, spring rolls, and drunken noodles. Everything was delicious and if we didn’t have to share with the other tables, my table would have eaten all of it ourselves.

I haven’t made it back just yet, but have every intention of multiple future visits.

Drink strength: 3.5
Overall: 4

Malai Kitchen
malaikitchen.com | @malaikitchen
3699 McKinney Ave #319 (West Village)

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 5-7 p.m. | $5 specialty cocktails and spicy crispy wings. 

Live music: Thursdays 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Chan Thai

Toting the best happy hour in North Oak Cliff on a sign outside, we saw “thai” and “free appetizers” and couldn’t get through the door fast enough to test it out.  While the restaurant was much larger than we expected, we sadly have to shoot down that it was the best happy hour … even just in North Oak Cliff.

When we arrived, we were the only two people in the bar area so we had our choice of tables.  The first one at which we sat was wobbly.  So we moved.  The second, wobbly.  The third already had sugar packets under the offending legs so we settled.

While the drinks were cheap, they weren’t very strong at all and the free apps weren’t anything special.  The only drink worth order is their rum concoction dubbed the Samui.  Olivia’s only comment on our experience was, “That frozen rum concoction got our nights started off just swelllll!”

My best advice:  Ask them not to bother with the appetizers and to keep the Samuis flowing.

Drink strength:  2 
Overall:  2.5

Chan Thai Restaurant
www.chanthaidallas.com
312 West 7th Street (in the Bishop Arts District) | (214) 948-9956

Specials:
Monday-Friday | 4-7 p.m. | $3 house wine, $2.50 well drinks, and free appetizers