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Mango Tree: Finally, Authentic Thai Fine Dining in Manila?!

How times have changed!

Hotels no longer monopolize the fine dining scene in Manila. Most actually have neglected it--they hardly innovate or even renovate their restaurants. They just rely on introducing different-themed buffets with different chefs. These days, if you want to go out for really good food, you go to specialized themed restaurants.

And now, we have Mango Tree to thank for bringing Authentic Thai Fine Dining to Manila!

Since Mango Tree is a Thailand Restaurant Chain, you can expect authentic Thai food and not the toned-down, Filipino-Thai sweet version. (I was never a fan of the Mango Tree Bistros here in Manila because the food was a bit safe and lacked in taste.)

We love the Mango Tree Flagship Store in Bonifacio High Street Central for its authentic Thai dishes, high-ceiling interiors, and Thai-inspired ambiance.

Check out our Mango Tree Dining experience with my Mastermind team...

Bonifacio High Street Central Restaurants:

• Jamba Juice Opens in Manila!
• SutrA Christmas Dinner: Our First Taste of BHS Central
• ARIA Mania in Manila?
• GEISHA, an Indian-owned Japanese Vegetarian Restaurant You'll Love :)
• ELIAS and the Spirants
• Mango Tree: Finally, Thai Fine Dining in Manila!
• A Beso Cucina Vinoteka Date
• The Cake Club Dessert Haven
• A SLICE of Pia Cayetano
• SARIWON, Authentic Korean Barbecue - First Branch outside Korea
• Village Tavern, a Higher-End Friday's?
• STELLA, Sister of Chelsea & the Star of BHS Central
• 'CUE, Modern Barbecue
• NOLITA (North of Little Italy): A Taste of the Real New York Pizza in Manila?
• BHS Central Summary: A Foodie's Guide to the BEST Eats in Bonifacio High Street Central :)

NAV Modern Thai Cuisine Reunion

Review Shortlink: oap.ph/NavThai | QR Code: oap.ph/NavThaiQRCode

Here's another restaurant worth checking out in the Brgy. Kapitolyo Food Street: Nav Modern Thai Cuisine. :) The place is run by the Naval brothers (hence the name) and Chef Francis Lim (my cousin-in-law) who used to work in People's Palace.

Nav serves modern Thai cuisine that is suited to the Filipino taste (read: preference for sweeter dishes). We celebrated my wife's LIM family reunion in Nav, so we got very good recommendations on what to order here...

Kapitolyo Food Street Series:

• Cafe Juanita - Eclectically Romantic
• The New Look of Cafe Juanita in Pasig
• Charlie's by Rob Goco, Hidden behind a Car Wash Station
• Insanely Mad Mark's!
• NAV Modern Thai Cuisine Reunion
• Poco Deli, the Little Neighborhood Deli of Kapitolyo

 

Dek A: Authentic Thai Hole-in-the-Wall Resto in Makati

Dek A is now my favorite authentic Thai restaurant in Manila. Dek means young and A stands for number 1 in class (as in Grade A).

Feb, who owns and runs the restaurant, is half-Filipina and half-Thai. Although she lives in Thailand with her Filipina mom, they decided to open a restaurant in Manila. You might ask, "What makes the restaurant authentic?" Well, they have a Thai cook AND their ingredients are sourced from Thailand every other week.

The days of affordable but mediocre Thai food in the metro are over. :) You have to check out Dek A in Makati...

Thai Dara

I am on a constant lookout for cheap Thai finds, and another one opened along Granada St. in Greenhills. This street is notorious for having the record of the most promising restaurants closing down in less than a year's time. With difficult parking space, a view of bumper-to-bumper traffic, and a sign that you can barely see when you are driving down the street, Thai Dara is determined to break this "curse" with authentic Thai dishes at affordable prices.

Owned by a Thai Chef who manages the restaurant but delegated the day-to-day cooking to a Pinoy cook, Thai Dara has most people raving about their Thai soups. The rest of the menu is at par with most of the cheap Thai places around. If you are craving for Thai food in the Greenhills area, this is the place to eat.

Khao Pad (Formerly U.P. Thai Canteen)

A lot of U.P. Foodies were thrilled to see the former U.P. Thai Canteen open in Ortigas Home Depot early this year. Most people thought that Mommy Thai (as the owner was fondly called by U.P. students) closed the resto for good in 2006 after moving twice outside of the campus. I finally had the chance to try it in its current home near Starbucks in Ortigas Home Depot.

They have a simple line pricing menu -- all the small dishes (good for one person) are P70, while the large dishes (good for 2-3 persons) are priced at P140.

Thai Pad, Hole-in-the-Wall Reincarnation of SukhoThai

Check out Thai Pad Menu (Bigger Version)

Most of us regarded SukhoThai as the standard of Thai food in the Philippines. When it closed down in the malls due to high overhead costs, we felt some sadness in our hearts. For a few months now, SukhoThai was reincarnated as Thai Pad in Marvin Plaza (where Canon Service center is located) along Pasong Tamo. At first, I was skeptical every time I see Thai Pad when I send my Canon 20d for repairs. I thought, oh no, not another one of those Thai restaurant wannabes. If they are really SukhoThai, why change the name?

Here are some stories that I heard about Thai Pad. The SukhoThai chef got sick and had to leave SukhoThai. Eventually, he setup his Som's hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Rockwell and eventually along N. Garcia. While Thai Pad, reinvented their concept to be more hole-in-the-wall setup which means, basic ambiance and affordable prices (around P100 only). It is owned by the same owner and uses the SukhoThai recipe except that their chefs are the "sous" chefs of the original SukhoThai chef. So expect same SukhoThai quality (I felt it was diluted) at 50% serving size and 50% the price.

Even if we felt the food is not as rich as before and the ingredients are kinda diluted, I would still recommend Thai Pad if you are craving for Thai comfort food. Although, Som's is the clear winner between the two in every Thai food aspect except for the Pad Thai. For some reason, Som's Pad Thai does not taste as good as Thai Pad's Pad Thai (I wanted to say that :).

Related Posts:
Som's Noodle House - cheap authentic version of SukhoThai
Som's Noodle House

Som's Noodle House

Read First:
Som's Noodle House - cheap authentic version of SukhoThai (October 25, 2005)

Living Room Area in Som's Noodle House

I first blog about Som's when it created a buzz in Rockwell area around October of 2005 (Som's Noodle House - cheap authentic version of SukhoThai). Ever since then our verdict was the thai food comes close to Sukho Thai except the Pad Thai. Also, after our first trip to Som's in Rockwell, we never went back because the mosquitoes and flies were annoying us. Their full pledge restaurant along N. Garcia is still down to earth and serves the same quality of food. I liked their idea of having a living/dining room area with TV that you can rent for P100/ hour. It was perfect for us especially since we have kids and we are a big group of 8. Also, this is good if you want to watch a much awaited telenovela with your officemates or simply watching NBA with your friends.

Overall, Som's is highly recommended for the Sukho-Thai taste of Thai Food except for the Pad Thai.

Check out the Som's Noodle House Menu

Jatujak in Mall of Asia!

Jatujak Menu: Click for a bigger Version

Before heading off to watch the Chinese Acrobats, Korean Paper Doll Lanterns, and the Italian Light Display, I would recommend to eat in this no-non sense Thai place called Jatujak in Mall of Asia. It is located in the second floor , entertainment mall near the center. It is named after the famous Chatuchak weekend market in Thailand and owned by a Filipino. This is what a filipino thai food should taste like and you can order your sukho thai favorites and fulfill your thai craving. We think that it is decently priced and the food is good.

Notsolillulu actually raved about Jatujak in her foodie review:

"Up until yesterday, I could only think of Muang Thai in QC to recommend...but now I've found another satisfying resto in Jatujak. Named after the world's biggest weekend market, found outside Bangkok, this restaurant presents old Thai reliables in a modern setting. Prices are reasonable and servings are more than adequate. We started with the shrimp tom yum. Although we asked for spicy (mild and medium being the other choices), we found it not unbearably hot. What we liked about the soup was that it didn't heavily rely on the spicy tom yum paste to flavor it, so you could still taste the other aromatics like galanggal and coriander. This is probably the best tom yum around here, according to my hubby, the tom yum connoisseur. We also had their fried spring rolls filled with sotanghon noodles ("glass noodles"), wood ear mushrooms and meat; they were substantial and not too oily. The pad thai boasted of nicely cooked al dente noodles, topped with loads of peanuts, beansprouts, spring onions and a couple of prawns."

Overall, Pinoy Thai Food at its bests! A little on the sweet side and you need to put kalamansi to balance it out. That is the way we like it sometimes...