Some nights, a trip to Plano for an authentic Thai meal sounds just as appealing as a visit to NorthPark Center on Christmas Eve. So we headed to Mango Thai Cuisine on Lovers, where the décor is bright and colorful, the servers are friendly, and the flavors, are, well, palate-friendly for all. “If you’re looking for authentic Thai, you probably want to go to our Plano location,” our smiling server said. Well, okay. The menu proudly announced (with pictures) cuisine from all over the world: dim sum (China), fried calamari (Italy), and edamame (Japan). We ordered the first two and some corn patties, and polished off the finger-shaped squid and the meaty pork and shrimp dumplings. Too bad the patties were deep-fried and missing more than a few kernels of sweet corn. The shrimp and chicken basil—the most authentically Thai dish, according to the honest server—was clean and fresh, heavy on the Thai basil and lemongrass, and served with a pile of nutty jasmine rice. The chicken was minced and hard to navigate with chopsticks, but the broccoli was crisp. The Panang beef curry was heavy on the coconut milk with only a tiny flame of heat. Our favorite was the ginger-roasted duck, tender meat slices with ginger garlic sauce and plenty of bok choy and snow peas. Slices of mango fanned across the top of a brick of sticky rice for a satisfying—and look, authentic!—Thai dessert.
Get contact information for Mango.
