Two weeks went by, and Braden and Yasmin Wages hadn’t received a delivery of fresh fish. Malai Kitchen’s menu is about 20% fresh seafood, and they couldn’t get a single shrimp sent to their 9-year-old restaurant. “It was a disappointment to our guests,” Braden Wages says through exhales... These days are going to be about the small stones of comfort we can pick up and hold in our hands. Malai Kitchen is focusing on good noodles, crunchy chips and as much fresh fish as they can find...

Malai Kitchen has the biggest and best chicken wings I’ve ever had... But Malai is somehow more than just its wings. I’ve tried eight different entrees through over a dozen trips to the Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in West Village for brunch, lunch or dinner. They’ve all been good (though my favorite is probably their Hoi An Hash). They also brew their own beer and craft great cocktails. The vibe, location and food are worthy of a high-end restaurant, but there aren’t many items on the menu over $15. Malai is a great restaurant, among the many that deserve to survive this pandemic...

Well, here we all are, crushing this shelter-in-place thing, for better and worse...I was at Malai Kitchen for lunch once, sitting at the bar working through a bowl of tom kha gai, when a family of about five came in and took up the rest of the bar to my right. The only thing they ordered: one serving of every dessert on the menu. You can do the same right now! What an amazing time to be alive, right? But, I wouldn’t share my banana pot de creme with anyone, ever. Or the mango sticky rice. And definitely not their coconut creme pie...

Southlake Style Readers' Choice 2020: Food & Drink
Asian Restaurant Winner: Malai Kitchen

Braden and Yasmin Wages opened Southeast Asian cuisine restaurant, Malai Kitchen, in Uptown in 2011 (now with three Dallas area locations). The plates at this West Village nexus of great cocktails are moderately priced and artfully presented Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Not-to-be-missed dishes: fresh summer rolls, ahi tuna tartare, Vietnamese beef noodle soup, and classic pad Thai. The green curry chicken is outstanding. And the house-pressed sugar cane juice? A must-drink.

...restaurateurs jump at chances to be creative. You can see it in the pop-up at Malai Kitchen that, once a year, turns the sidewalk in front of the West Village restaurant into a Hanoi street market scene, with toilet-paper rolls for napkins and a chalkboard menu that reads, for one day, Vietnamese lung and tongue stew with calamansi-tamarind sauce and green mango salad laced with marinated pig ear. And $1 beer...

There’s a whiff of foreboding greatness in the air. Here we’ve gathered some side dish recipes from Dallas chefs. If you’re looking for something different to throw into the mix, these should be a safe bet. Vietnamese Roasted Brussels Sprouts | Braden Wages, Malai Kitchen

Work is underway at the Park Village location to increase seating, add a private dining room and expand the brewery. With the popularity of Malai's house brews, including the Thai PA, 3C Porter, and seasonal pours, it has been difficult to keep up with demand at all three locations of the popular fusion restaurant.

One of the best deals you can get — pound-for-pound in both ingredients and taste — is Malai Kitchen’s tom kha gai soup. The small bowl, which has large chunks of chicken lazing at the bottom, is a great lunch or light dinner and is about the price of a latte. Or less. For a little history on how this soup found its way to this kitchen, we have to go to Laos...

Whether you're looking for traditional hot wings or specialty hot wings, here are some of the best spots in the DFW to grab you some saucy wings! ... Jumbo whole wings are marinated in fish sauce and chili powder, then are painted with a delicious Thai chili, paprika, lemongrass, and cider vinegar-spiked sauce...