Mai Thai Restaurant

I had noticed the Mai Thai sign last week while driving by and decided to stop in Saturday night for dinner to try it out. I was greeted by the owner who was very friendly and explained that it had always been her dream to open a Thai restaurant, she even introduced me to her brother so it is obviously a family affair. The decor was nice, nothing flashy and it doesn't look like a trinket store as some Thai restaurants do so the change was refreshing. There is actually a bar area that I noticed on the right on the way out so if you want to get a drink there is that option as well.



I decided to try the spring rolls and the combination Pad Thai which I ordered medium spicy because I like to see what a restaurant's medium is like before I decide to go with their hot or not. The spring rolls arrived quickly, were presented nicely and I had a choice of sauces to go with them but I stuck with the sweet and sour peanut sauce. The owner was, of course, interested in what I thought and I told her they were good which they were, fresh, not too sticky, just what a spring roll should be.



Shortly thereafter the main course arrived. It was presented nicely and there was enough on the plate that I knew right away I would be taking some home. I've noticed recently that another well known Thai place in town has started skimping on its portions, that's not the case here. I also liked the fact that the ground peanuts, lemon wedge, etc. were on the side and not all over the top of the dish so I could use as much or as little as I wanted to suit my tastes. How did it taste? Very good, the noodles were done just right without being overdone and the shrimp was not rubbery (something I seem to find a lot if I get shrimp in Pad Thai). The combo has chicken, shrimp, pork and I think beef too and all were cooked well without being overcooked.



The owner again stopped by the table to ask how I liked it and I told her it tasted very good but that next time I would go hotter because the medium wasn't very hot. She didn't want to see me unhappy (which I wasn't) so she rushed off and brought back this little rotating lazy susan like device with four different sauces in it and explained each one. I thanked her and did experiment with each of them to see what they tasted like and how spicy each one was. I should point out that I like spicy food and used to have a collection of hot sauces with a college buddy during college so I'm no stranger to heat. I would recommend either the Thai chili sauce which is probably the hottest or the jalapenos in oil as a nice add-on.



Overall it was a pleasant dining experience and the food I had was very good. The wait staff was attentive without being overbearing, and the owner was very charming. The prices were about average for a Thai restaurant in Overland Park and the menu had a pretty good selection of dishes to try, some of which I had not seen before. I did pass on dessert as I simply didn't have enough room and I didn't want to have to pay for it at the gym today. I will certainly be back to try out other dishes. I did grab a take out menu and asked about delivery and was told that they don't have it yet but it is coming soon.