Befitting its location, this offspring of the popular (at least with tourists) Mango Tree on Surawongse serves up mediocre food typical of malls. It’s better to drop by for lunch, because at dinner, patrons can get up on stage and indulge in some free karaoke. So unless you like your tom yum goong with a side order of middle-aged guys crooning “Hey Jude,” this isn’t the place for you. Overall, the service is friendly but when asked for recommendations they will just point at the photos... err, thanks. With an extensive menu of Thai food, the cooking is a very mixed bag. Most dishes are pedestrian, some frankly unacceptable. Their plaa goong wasabi (shrimp salad with wasabi), might look bland, but watch out: it will leave you weeping. With way too much wasabi, we didn’t have the stomach to finish it. Then there is the kai tord Sukhothai (fried chicken with finely-chopped lemongrass). The dish is not bad, with a good combination of fried chicken, herbs and lemongrass, but neither is it exceptional. Their larb puu nim tord (deep-fried soft shell crab salad) is a bit overpriced considering you get such a small portion and the soft-shell crab is soggy. The biggest letdown is the kaeng som pla chon pae sa, which seems like a steal, as you get a whole fish served hot pot style. But the soup is insipid and watery, the veggies mushy and the fish far from fresh. The desserts, featuring the usual suspects like mango with sticky rice and tabtim krob do little to set the heart racing. Trying to be hip, Mango Tree Bistro is looking to attract young mallrats. They may succeed thanks to their little bar serving cocktails and their aforementioned karaoke machine. But, for a gastronomic moment, these dishes are not even good enough for clueless tourists. Corkage B400.
