Speaking in generalities, most good thai restaurants are in strip malls, in an off corner somewhere. A hidden gem, if you will. Bai Mai Thai, tucked in the corner of Layfayette Towers Center, is an oasis of real thai food. Yet another stereotype but fact about most good thai restaurants: they tend to not look like much on the outside but once you enter, the game is totally changed. Now, it doesn't matter what kind of restaurant it is but when the first thing you see when you walk in is a beautiful, long bar with almost every single kind of liquor and brand you can think of smacks you in the face…you're doing it right. A wall that almost runs the length of the bar with picture window separates the hustle and bustle of the bar and people picking up to go orders from the serenity that is the dinning room. Wide, wooden benches in the booths which are a step up from the floor giving the tables a little bit of height and posters of Thailand related things like a boating community trading right in the middle of a river, a candle festival, the king of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, his wife Sirikit, and their only son Maha Vajiralongkorn make up the pretty thai dinning room aesthetic to a T. The lighting is reasonably dim with overhead lights and a small candle at the table and the conversation level, any time I've been in there, is amazingly pleasant. The occasional laugh or clink of a metal fork hitting a plate with a hushed radio station being played over the PA (I just wish they wouldn't play American music over the PA. That would totally complete the experience for me but from a business stand point, not everyone would enjoy it.)
Standard apps like chicken satay, spicy short ribs, tofu tod, curry puffs, and steamed mussels are always a treat. However, the soup in this place is, not to be cliche, TO FUCKING DIE FOR. Oh man. The Tom Yum and the Tom Kha served at Bai Mai Thai are probably the best in the city. I believe they also have a basic 'thai soup' as well which is also amazing. They have two classic 'yum' salads grilled beef and thai which is the same thing as the grilled beef dish but with seafood. They also have a chicken satay salad which you should try at least once, in life. (By the way, a 'yum' is a dish consisting of some sort of meat tossed with fish sauce, dried or fresh chilies, lime juice, and herbs typically served on a bed of fresh salad greens.) Their 'fried rice' section is set with some of the greats like khao pad (chicken with chinese broccoli, tomato, onion, egg, sweet soy sauce, and carrot), a basic seafood fried rice, and pineapple fried rice. There are plenty more on the actual menu but I don't want to ruin some surprises which I know you will enjoy as much as I have. The 'noodles section' is my own personal heaven and, as to not ruin the surprises in store for you and your taste buds, I will only speak of three dishes (two of which are the same, just one is served with wider noodles). Pad Thai and Pad See-Eew (regular size noodles or the wide noodles). While they are both extreme standards in most thai restaurants, this place is killing it! Pad Thai and Pad See-Ew (comes with regular noodles or thick noodles, the thicker noodles will quite obviously fill you up faster.) Their entrees include such golden hits as Pad Ped, Gaeng Dang (chicken curry), Veggie curry (steamed veggies in a curry sauce), Gaeng Paa (a dish from northern Thailand that was traditionally prepared with wild boar but is now typically made with pork or chicken. Also includes pea eggplant, lemongrass, and green pepper corns to name a few), Pad Kra Time Prik Thai (a garlic and pepper chicken dish with mushroom soy sauce and oyster sauce, water chestnuts, and green onion), and Pla Sarm Rod (fried catfish with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, fresh basil, thai chili with a tamarind sauce). My dessert is usually a martini but for "normal people", their thai custard is also worth a shot.
(Pad See-ew)
As I stated before, I only touched on just some of the things on their menu. To truly get the experience of Bai Mai Thai, you have to go there and loose yourself in their menu and the atmosphere which is easy to fall in love with. Find this place and simply enjoy the moment.
