In my travels around Brant I have the pleasure of connecting with food establishments to discover cuisine, people, ambience and interest in offering options for all walks of life.  On this particular occasion my palate was interested in the beautiful tastes of Thai Food and with the My Thai established in Brantford since 2001, it was a simple choice, although, my budget for dinner was already predetermined by the ATM.

A simple hello and aromatic discovery is clearly part the initial sensory experience at My Thai, it was a perfect way to begin.  We requested a table for two, and happily followed the host walking past many filled tables. 

The menu was vast; curries, noodle bowls, mango salads, sticky rice dessert, soups and much more. Everything was listed by category, description and price point. This is where the Table for Two experience unfolds …

On this particular evening we were dining out on a budget. After being asked if we wanted to begin with a beverage, I quietly replied with a “no thank you,” yet continued to briefly share about our budget for tonight’s dinner. With a little surprise came a clarifying question, “is that $20 per person” … a soft “no,” offered the confirmation that was only momentarily puzzled our server.  After a few moments of flipping about the menu, asking dietary questions, confirming a few options, it was decided that she would be happy to find a way to ensure we enjoyed a meal within our budget and dietary limitations. We weren’t sure what would arrive, yet we knew the server was showing signs of happily accommodating our dining out budget request.

The question in my mind prior to arriving was, would the establishment prefer a customer to enjoy a savoury dining out experience on a budget or would they end up not being interested to accommodate knowing the customer may leave. On this occasion My Thai clearly wanted to offer options and service excellence to ensure we were welcomed even within a dining out budget.

Our shared mystery meal arrived. Two plates and one heaping bowl of Mango Salad brimming with savoury scents of mango, peppers and onions; the colours of bright red, yellow and purple were inviting us to dig in.

The glistening matchstick slices of the fruit and vegetables were heaping out of the deep beige bowl and was clearly more than enough for a starter salad. It was a relaxing time to catch up on the day while discovering the unique flavour combination of My Thai’s healthy Mango Salad. Our delightful server arrived shortly after the salad with pride of serving a beautifully filled platter of fresh fried rice with mounds of vegetables … she offered “I asked for extra vegetables for your dish,” knowing we had requested a vegetarian meal. It smelled delicious and looked as though it would easily serve more than two. 

“Enjoy your dinner,” she said.

Over the next 20 minutes it was a delicious dinner for two at an established local restaurant that accommodated our budget restriction, offered a healthy meal, treated us with respect and service excellence regardless of the budget request. When we were all done, they saw us off with a warm thank you, candies with our bill and a big smile!

So what was the final bill? I was curious to look as the ATM only offered me one crisp $20.

To my original expectation, the server had obviously fully understood the point of this dining out exercise. A complete dining experience for twenty dollars. Her experience clearly offered the ability to ensure our meal was not only delicious, but under our budget to allow for tax plus room for a gratuity. One crisp 20 and a clear win/win Table for Two at My Thai Brantford.