Last night my wife and I met up with the two world famous food bloggers (Erin and Ben) from We Got Served at St Paul’s Mango Thai. Self proclaimed as offering both excellent atmosphere and a large selection of Thai food, I was excited to try out the Thai restaurant Metro Magazine proclaimed “Truest Thai”.
We arrived a few minutes early and had a chance to see the small space almost empty before the dinner rush arrived. Right near the front door are a few low tables with rough, unpainted wood and some large cushions. With the cold weather seeping in from the front door and a pregnant wife I was pleased with their choice to seat us deeper into the restaurant at a standard height table. There are plenty of bamboo themed items going on at Mango Thai which separates the space a bit and hides the kitchen from view. We noted that the seating was very comfortable with large cushions under us that were pregnancy approved. My only complaints about the restaurant’s space was its small size and how low the lighting was. It’s very small inside and the tables are close together. Several times we had to rearrange the location of our table to allow other diners access to their chairs without bumping into us. The lighting is low and with black menus and dark red chilies to designate default spice level, it’s hard to read at night–even for me.
Mango Thai’s menu is fairly extensive and offers a good number of traditional Thai dishes as well as more Americanized versions preferred by just about everyone who has eaten Thai locally. Everything was very reasonably priced and entree items ranged between $8.95 and $13.95. The Budget Nazi (TM) was pleased with the pricing and rescinded her earlier statement that I was only to order an entree and no appetizers.
My wife chose the fried tofu which came with two peanut based sauces (a very light sweet and sour with crushed peanuts and a Thai peanut sauce which didn’t taste like peanut sauce at all). Both sauces were excellent and the kitchen was happy to provide my wife with a peanut-less sauce on the side after her request. Erin and Ben went with the Mango Spring Rolls which, as I had seen at other tables earlier, were presented beautifully–similar to what I had eaten at Spice Thai in Savage–but with a lot more carrot garnish, something which seemed to be a theme tonight.
After a comfortable wait, which allowed time for Ben and I to drink our own beers from the cooler stationed next to the table (Mango Thai allows you to bring in your own alcohol–apparently up through hard liquor–so we chose four 22 oz beers at Haskel’s earlier in the week), our server took our entree orders. My wife went with the Cashew Chicken, I ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Basil, I believe Ben got the Pad Kee Mow and Erin ordered the Tom Kha Chicken Coconut Soup.
Erin’s soup was by far the most impressive force on the table when it was delivered. Arriving in a large, heated, metal tray spitting fire (which I didn’t realize until the table next to us ordered something similar) the soup gave off an amazing aroma that really got me ready for my own. I couldn’t really see Ben’s entree except for the pile of decorative carrots on top but after viewing Erin’s picture of it, I have to admit it looking tasty. He later mentioned that even with three chilies on the menu, it wasn’t spicy enough for him and he had to use some of my extra dry red pepper to kick it up to a level he was comfortable with (please note: Ben is a proven spice pussy so you have been warned to have them kick it up if you like it hot).
My wife’s Cashew Chicken was wonderful. The sauce was light, flavorful, and unique. Definitely unlike any cashew chicken dish I’ve tried before, I honestly wish I would have stolen some more from her plate. Unfortunately she gobbled a good bit of it up before I even had time to sneak my fork over there. After dinner she noted that it was a great dish and she would definitely eat it again. I think we might be back for a future trip to Mango Thai.
My Shrimp and Chicken Basil did not disappoint in portion size, shrimp, or chicken. I had been told that Mango Thai’s portions were tiny but I was definitely pleased with what we received. I didn’t even use half of the rice offered and I still could barely get it all down. I had originally planned on boxing up some to take home but it was so fucking tasty that I just couldn’t bring myself to stop eating. While I asked, as usual, for it to be as hot as they could possibly make it, I did have to resort to calling for an additional spice tray. The server looked at me in absolute horror as if I had just cursed his dead grandmother. He swore that he had never seen the kitchen use as much spice as they did on my plate. I assured him that he shouldn’t take offense because nothing is hot enough for me–well, except 20 Girvan Grille Ghost Wings in 10 minutes. After dumping 1/4 of the crushed red pepper and all of the chili/garlic sauce (both which appeared homemade), it did the trick and made my nose run and the telltale beads of sweat appear on my forehead. To be fair, after my additional doctoring, the heat remained with me in a pleasant way all the way home and even could be felt burning my lips as I crawled into bed two hours later. Ahh, success.
Overall I was extremely pleased with every last little bit about Mango Thai last night. From the service to the food this place get our thumbs up. I am excited to go back and try some of their other dishes–especially following Cristina Cordova’s recommendation to me on Twitter to try the Chili Mint Chicken, something which I didn’t see until it was too late.
Have you ever eaten at Mango Thai in St Paul? If so what did you think? Do you believe it’s the Metro’s “Truest Thai” as reported in Metro Magazine? What dishes did you enjoy most there? Whatever you have to say about Mango Thai go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts or even suggestions on where you believe the most authentic Thai happens to be!
Address:
Mango Thai Restaurant
610 Selby Ave
St. Paul, MN 55102
Phone:
651-291-1414
Hours:
Monday to Thursday: 11 AM – 10 PM
Friday: 11 AM – 11 PM
Saturday: 12 PM – 11 PM
Sunday : 12 PM – 9 PM
See all my crappy pictures from Mango Thai in St Paul on Flickr here (damn low light!) and be sure to check out Erin’s beautiful photos on Flickr here as well!
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December 12th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Bill calling someone a “spice pussy” needs to be taken with a grain of salt, lets be honest here :) We had a great time last night, I’m sure we’ll have our review up in at least a couple weeks.
December 12th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
One of my favorite places to have lunch, though I should note that I find their lunch portions a bit on the small side (as compared to the platter sized entrees at Sawatdee or Taste of Thaiyai). Great curries. Love the mango springrolls. And two of the desserts (the sticky rice with mangoes and the fried bananas with cinnamon ice cream) are among the best I’ve had since moving to the cities — they’re big enough for two to share, but you won’t want to. If you’re going at lunch time, get there early — the tables fill up fast at noon.
December 12th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
The same people who run Mango have Chai’s Thai next to the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. I haven’t been to Mango yet, but I can vouch for Chai’s as a pretty regular customer. The food is fantastic — I’d recommend the egg rolls, crab avocado rolls, Thai beef jerky, Massaman curry, Panang curry and Pad Kee Mow — and so reasonably priced. The place is super tiny but the staff is very accommodating and great with large groups if you make a reservation. It also has a surprisingly hip atmosphere and the food doesn’t lack on presentation. On top of the reasonable menu it’s BYOB with no corking fee.
I think Chai’s really is one of my favorite places in Minneapolis, and such a good place to take out-of-towners to see a different side of the city. There certainly is no shortage of awesome people-watching opportunities in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. And after dinner, if you didn’t bring enough of YOB you can grab a beer at nearby Acadia Cafe or Town Hall Brewery.
December 14th, 2009 at 4:27 am
[...] A Perfect Pint, a local and charming new Regina Spektor-driven commercial promoting healthy eating, Mango Thai in St. Paul, a Heavy Table giveaway over on Fork Knife and Spoon, and Aaron visits Il Gatto. var [...]
December 14th, 2009 at 5:28 am
My now-fiancée and I have been to Mango many times since it opened. It’s a favorite, though I will admit that has to do with ambience and memories at least as much as the food. Not having spent time in Thailand or with native cooks, I can’t say that the food at Mango Thai reaches the highest levels of authenticity. I’ve been to Krua Thai (which is/used to be known for its authenticity) a few times and the food at Mango reminds me less of Krua Thai and more of other Thai restaurants in town. But there may be regional cooking differences in play, too (like the differences between Szechuan and Hong Kong Chinese cooking).
In our experience, the food at Mango is of high quality, nicely presented, and very tasty, and the staff has been very accommodating. For us, that’s enough to keep us coming back.
December 14th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I’ve only been to Mango Thai once but have been looking forward to going back ever since. I knew before we went that you could bring your own drinks in and that they took reservations, which is still not as wide spread as I’d like. So we came with a nice selection of craft beers and were seated promptly in one of their U-shaped booths. Very comfortable and could have easily accomodated 6 people. Great food, great service.
December 14th, 2009 at 8:05 am
I recently attended a Ronin VIP Party (they have them every quarter) and the theme for this one was Nona’s family’s traditional holiday meal spread. While I have never been to Thailand, I would guess that what was offered there was about as close to traditional as you could get and I have never seen any of those options on a local Thai restaurant menu.
Now, Mango Thai did have some of these options for menu items but the vast majority were what you could find anywhere else. I am no traditional Thai expert but I’d guess the “Truest Thai” is title best bestowed on someone else.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I think the quest for “True” Thai food misses the point. The only thing that matters is if it tastes good. I work at a local Thai restaurant, and have some expiernece with this question.
Let me explain: Thailand has 80 million or so people, which means there are probably 20 million ways of preparing, for example, Pad Thai. There are also several different and very distinct regions… North (Chiang Mai area,) Isaan (Isaan literally translates to Northeast) which is close to the Lao capital Vientienne and shares many similarities to Lao and even Hmong food, and Bangkok, a massive city with a huge Chinese population.
Manyof the vegatables used in Thai cooking are simply not available here. One example is Holy Basil, or Bai Grapow. Another example is the Betal Leaves used for lettuce wrap things. This year we have actually had a lot of success location these items though, which has been great!
A third point is that Thai people have a tendency to like bitter and pungent things that many Americans are not used to. Some local Thai joints have some of these things, but they might (rightly) try to steer you away from them. Things like Shrimp Paste for example :) Very pungent. For an example of this get Papaya salad, Lao style. That purple stuff is the shrimp paste. An aquired taste, but a taste worth aquiring.
One thing that I think is interesting working with Thai people is that some of them think about stinky cheese (blue, gorg, Telleggio) in the same regard most of us Americans would hold a heavy shrimp paste dish. Total aquired taste!
Is Mango Thai the most authentic? I think our restaurant might be more authentic- but of course I am going to say that. Mango Thai is excellant though! Beautiful plating.
-shogunmoon
December 28th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I loved Mango Thai, but I don’t know if it is THE best…only time will tell.
Here’s my review:
http://adventuresinthaifood.blogspot.com/2009/11/mango-thai.html