For Good Thai, My Thai is Still Too Expensive
NOSA: Eko Hotel isn’t like your typical hotel in Lagos. The restaurants are a big part of the experience. Which means, unlike almost every hotel in Lagos, the restaurant selection serves food you’d actually pay to eat. In 1415, RED, Crossroads, Sky, and The Grill Steakhouse, Eko Hotel boasts a collection that no other hotel in Lagos can compete with.
FOLLY: I've been particularly enthused by the arrival of Crossroads and My Thai.
NOSA: Considering how prolific Eko Hotel is in churning out new restaurants, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at all by the arrival of My Thai. Just like the others, My Thai is incredibly expensive. The Pad Thai, for starters, is almost $50. Crazy stuff.
FOLLY: Now see, that $50 Pad Thai caught me off guard, I most certainly didn't see that coming.
NOSA: Open for dinner only, My Thai welcomes you with a blue ginger drink that I didn’t quite catch the name of. According to the waitress, it’s a palate cleanser. It didn’t add anything to the experience, but maybe it’s a hidden factor in the bill.
FOLLY: I had it and quite liked it because of the ginger kick. Also it's very important to me that I mention that My Thai opens at 5 pm but doesn't start serving dinner until 6 pm.
NOSA: To start, we got the Thod Man Goong (Prawn Cake)Prawn Cake
NOSA: I expected a flat pancake thing, but what came out were cute little nuggets. Cute little DELICIOUS nuggets.
FOLLY: I was expecting a disk shaped prawn cake that had a bit more prawn in the filling than potatoes.
NOSA: Just imagine chicken nuggets without the chicken, but with shrimp. Absolutely delicious stuff.
FOLLY: I found the texture of the shrimp on the inside a tad bit inconsistent and it threw me off a whole lot. I'd also like to add that the sauce that accompanied this was a basic bottled sweet chilli sauce - a shame given the price point of My Thai.
NOSA: For the price, the Phad Thai Goong Sod (Pad Thai) was ridiculously tiny. I was willing to give them the benefit of doubt on price, but the portion was definitely taking it too far. I mean, you only get two big prawns in the thing so where does the rest of the money go to?
FOLLY: This portion size was a pretty big sham and absolutely ridiclous. I remember asking the waitress if it was a sharing portion and she responded that two people could share it but that one person could comfortable eat it alone too.
NOSA: For all my whining, it’s actually pretty good Pad Thai. It’s no Orchid House but it’s miles better than the one at Thai Thai. I guess that’s why the price hurts me so.
FOLLY: I, too, cannot deny that it's one of the better Pad Thai's that I've had in Lagos but it zero value for money - absolute 0/100. On the ThaiThai Pad Thai, that was only good the first time I had it. The quality had steadily declined and that is a disappointing story for another day.
NOSA: Also really good is the Geang Massaman Neua (Massaman Curry). A bit of a random fact I found out on the internet, Massaman Curry draws heavily on Indian influences and was probably introduced by Muslim traders who roamed the region. This Muslim influence explains why chicken is the most popular variant of the curry. You learn something new everyday, eh?
FOLLY: The portion, thankfully, was also less of a rip off than the Pad Thai considering that we had a little bit leftover to take home.
Massaman is a mild and thick Thai curry. It's not spicy at all and has a very nutty flavour owing to the peanuts. I gravitate towards it because it's less brothy than your typical Thai curries and isn't spicy at all. I should warn that some of that thickness can be attributed to onions so if that's a problem for you I'd stay clear. The most delightful aspect of My Thai's iteration was the sprinkling of roasted peanut and cashew nuts, as well as raisins into the curry.
FOLLY: The garlic rice was my attempt to try something different from regular steamed white rice. It wasn't a good idea - it was white rice tossed in roasted (read: burnt) garlic oil. If you've ever burnt your garlic while making pasta but still used it anyway you can probably imagine the flavour I'm describing.
NOSA: You should only come here if you’re trying to spend company money or you’re Hush Puppi. Or maybe if you’re both. I mean, Hush is an employee too. Have you seen that snapchat where he’s some Dubai restaurant buying crab point-and-kill style? Yeah, My Thai is a “flex ting” like that. If you’re considering it for date night, just buy your babe a weave. You don’t even get a view.
POSTCRIPT
NOSA: The food is good, but I’m not coming back here. I don’t make enough money and Orchid House has cheaper + better Thai.
FOLLY: Me neither, not even for date night. It's absolutely ridiculous how much it costs and no it's not fine dining portions - just a plain simple rip off.
VERDICT
DAMAGE
Thod Man Goong - N6500
Phad Thai Goong Sod - N12000
Garlic Fried Rice - N2000
Geang Massaman Neua - N14000
PARKING
Abundant.