Cardiff’s Caroline Street – aka Chippy Alley – has long been synonymous with satisfying post-pub cravings for carbs and grease rather than fine dining, and until recently the most exotic thing you could find there was a doner kebab. Now, though, thanks to Malai Thai, it’s fast becoming the place to go if you’ve got a taste for Thai.
I’m not going to bash Busaba, the stylish London-based chain that has taken up residence in what’s been branded as the Spice Quarter – not least because I had a very good meal at the Soho branch last year. But my sympathies are always going to lie with the underdog, the independent – which, in this case, is Malai Thai, bravely facing off against the out-of-town bully directly across the street. No fancy branding, Instagrammable décor or private equity firm backing here – just a small, unpretentious restaurant serving up authentic fare with the minimum of fuss and nonsense.
The ‘Special Lunch’ meal deal, available daily from 12-3pm, is remarkable in terms of both the range of options (three stir-fried dishes, four curries, five stir-fried meals and three flavours of soup) and the price (£8.99, including a bottle of water – a recent increase of £2 that is more than justifiable in the current climate). For value-for-money city-centre Thai, it trumps even Thai Asian Delish.
Stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts, pad Thai and pad si-ew – the latter with feisty chilli flakes on the side so the more timorous diner can microdose – arrive quickly and are all intensely flavoursome and generously proportioned. Meanwhile, I take liberties and venture off-menu, asking if my massamam could come with beef rather than the advertised chicken – but the chef is happy to oblige and it’s most definitely not a request I regret.
Our server beaming with pride in response to a barrage of effusive praise, we step back into the street, marvelling at how this gem is hiding in plain sight and pondering how long it’ll be before Chippy Alley is rechristened Bangkok Boulevard.
Malai Thai, Caroline Street, Cardiff. Info: malaithaifood.com
words and photos BEN WOOLHEAD
