Restaurant Review: Mangotree

This is one of the few restaurants that I got as a recommendation from a local instead of an expat.

Khun A was horrified with my selection of restaurants.. most of which he feels to be at least two of the following qualities: overpriced, average quality, and non-authenticate. Admittedly, I couldn't tell the difference.

I sought out his opinion for a "nicer" Thai restaurant. Mangotree was his response. He likes it so much to the point he spent a good quarter of our language session drawing out directions and describing the place and food. In Thai, of course.

Food: Excellent. It offers all the classic Thai dishes, even the more obscure ones like pomelo salad (which I wanted to try for ages and it was absolulte delicious, albiet pricey). I ordered a multicourse meal for the three of us, starting with salads, vegetables, noodles, fish, and meat. They were out of morning glory, which really disappointed me. How does that happen? It's a weed!!

Service: Excellent. Very courteous staff, many fluent in English. I ordered all in Thai, and he repeated each item in Thai, then summed up the entire order in English. They used palm pilots to make orders, how modern and efficent!

Ambiance: A sense of traditional Thai. The entrace looks like a tradition house. The interior is entirely of wood, mostly teak. The tables simple, and looked worn and old (but are not). We had a seat upstairs, so we sat in platforms with depressiong for our leg space, much like Japanese style dining. We had reclining cushions behind us, which could lead to dozing off if one was tired enough. The only problem: mosquitos.

Price: Mid-range, approximately 500THB per person without alcoholic orders.

I loved this place, bug bites ignored. At the moment, it ranks as my favourite Thai restauarnt.