I am a huge fan of Thai food, and I’m glad I won’t run out of places to get some. Recently, I had my fill at one of the more celebrated local Thai restaurants — chef Colin McKay’s People’s Palace.

Setting. Situated at the ground floor of the posh Greenbelt 3, the place has upscale modern interiors, a high ceiling, and Thai artifacts for decor. The tables are set up quite close to each other, so it’s hard not to overhear others’ conversations. The place can get very packed on meal times, so it is very advisable to reserve in advance.

Can you spot the Jack LaLanne juicer?

The Pad Thai (P380) was bad as it had a smoky, sunog aftertaste. They must have overcooked something — I’m thinking it was the fried egg. That makes the dish so god-awful — and they should not have served it. Makes me wonder what kind of quality control their kitchen has.

My Minted Melon (P140) was adorned with an orchid flower.

The Kapi (Bagoong) Fried Rice (P390) was fragrant and had sweet pork strips. While I liked this dish, it places second to the version I had at Azuthai, which had a more balanced flavor.

The Prawn Cakes (P370) were plump and tasty. For an appetizer, I would have hoped that it was served before everything else — instead, it was one of the last dishes that was brought out.

The Stir-fried Vegetables (P240) go well with rice

No Thai meal is ever complete without my favorite dessert — Sticky Rice with Mangoes (P200). This for me was the best part of the meal, with good sticky rice texture and plenty of thick coco cream.
Service was disappointing, especially given its reputation. The waiters were flustered and had to be reminded of requests before they acted on it (e.g., we had to call for the dessert menu 3 times before it finally reached us). For a restaurant at this price point (around P800 per head) and on this location, I expected the staff to be knowledgeable of when to serve the appetizers (hint: not after most of the main courses have been served).

Overall verdict. With a lot of areas for improvement, People’s Palace is certainly not the best Thai restaurant in town. The harried service is a huge letdown, and they ought to be ashamed of ever serving that horrendous overcooked Phad Thai dish. That being said, they do have some hits that serve as the saving grace of our dining experience. Would I recommend People’s Palace? Let’s just say it definitely won’t be the first name that comes to mind when I’m asked about good Thai food. Would I dine here again? Probably in the (far) future, when they get enough time to think about how to tie their loose ends. Until then, I prefer my appetizers served ahead of the main dishes please.

People’s Palace Thai Restaurant
G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center
Makati City
Tel. #: +63 2 729-2888
www.peoplespalacethai.com

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