With a small and simple exterior inside a commercial complex, one would have to be in the know to enter its door.

Ma Now Thai, located inside Poco Place in Port Coquitlam, is a place to get authentic Thai flavours in a calm - almost tranquil - dining atomsphere.  It consistently receives high ratings from major social networks and travel guides. So we decided to give it a try.

It was after work on Saturday at around 6:30pm when we arrived. They say first impression is very important. It definitely did the trick at Ma Now Thai.  It uses mostly wood based tone and sunset amber lighting with simple thematic interior - not unlike a relaxing Thai Spa.

Their menu is very extensive, seems to be wanting to represent as much Thai cuisine as possible. But the drinks menu is very tiny in comparison; although they do offer some specialty cocktails.  Being a wine nut that I am, of course I ordered a glass of wine, but to be honest, I almost didn’t!  I was unexpectedly offended slightly by the limited selection of wines available, but I quickly tried to calm myself down by considering the business side of this operation.  ‘Perhaps the alcohol sales was not good?’ But then again, as I started observing the room, I was somewhat surprised by the diversity of Ma Now Thai’s clientele.  The table to my right at first was a family of four with kids around age of 6 - 8 and later came a group of 6 young adults. The table to my left was two people  in 40 - 50s seems to be on a date.  Although only a very few ordered alcohol, they all definitely look like the ones who would have a pint of beer or a glass of wine at a different setting.  The ones that did order alcohol all ordered this Thai beer “Chang”, maybe I will try it next time since it has my last name on it.

To be able to get a good coverage of this restaurant in this one visit, we ordered the appetizer patter, a chicken Kaow’s Soi (recommended as their signature item by our server), and a Jackfruit vanilla ice cream with deep fried banana.  Within its limited selection of wine, I ordered their Gewurztraminer by See Ya Later Ranch to pair, which came in a nice proper white wine glass (you’d be surprised how many restaurants get the stemwares wrong!).  Perhaps it was because of our combination, they all sit on the milder side of the Thai food spectrum.

The appetizer platter consists of spring rolls, chicken satay, a cold salad, and crispy wontons.  Spring rolls were within expectation - nothing special. Chicken satay is mild - almost flavourless - and a bit on the dry side; definitely needs the flavour and moisture from the peanut sauce.  Our kids love the crispy wonton (which kid doesn’t?) and we were actually pleasantly surprised by the cold salad - it’s refreshing, flavourful, and definitely appetizing.

Kao Soi is this crispy rice noodle on coconut curry broth - we were told this is their signature must-try.  I was not entirely impressed - maybe I was expecting something more stimulating.  What’s good about the Kaow Soi however, is that once the crispy rice noodle soaks up enough of the broth, they give more of a softer texture but still retain some of the crunchy mouthfeel. The Gewurztraminer became a very nice pairing to this mildly hearty curry broth pack of 3-dimensional noodle - I was not wrong to have still ordered the wine.  The off-dry fragrant wine matches the sweetness of the coconut curry so well that it brings forth even more buttery richness from the noodles. The signature phenolics and fuller body nature of this greyish pink grape is doing a very good job to support and elevate the Kaow Soi. The Jackfruit vanilla ice cream and fried banana is exactly that - a crowd pleaser. Our kids love them so we got no problems whatsoever, just that it would have been even better if there is a glass of Sauternes or even PX Sherry to drip over it with.

This visit turned out to be a calm dinner rather than an exciting flavour search.  We still had an overall pleasant dining experience - had we not approached this with a magnifying glass, it might be even better.

I still strongly believe that Ma Now Thai has the potential to offer an even more complete package with a better thought-out beverage program - draft and craft beer offering and a wine menu that has more extensive wine by the glass and bottle offerings. Don’t have to be long, but there are definitely more wines out there that will pair so well with different Thai food - Pinot Gris or Chenin Blanc with Pad Thai, a fruitier style of Cotes du Rhone or Pinot Noir to match a diverse styles of Thai fried rice, or a full body acidic Gruner Veltliner to pair with any green curry dish. Lots of combinations to explore.

All I am saying is, time and time again, restaurants miss out on the opportunity to elevate the dining experience even more with great wine pairings to their menu. Restaurants like Ma Now Thai can definitely do it - they already have the atmosphere, the food, and the potential clientele to support the demand.