Our six month old Goldador puppy, Elvis, loves water. He can’t walk past a running sprinkler or puddle of water without attacking them. One day when visiting our favorite pet store – The Dog’s Meow – we learned from the owners of a place in Millcreek called Barley’s Canine Recreation Center. It’s a dog daycare business with lots of room for dogs to play, including a huge pool for pups and grown-up dogs. It’s a terrific place and a great way to wear out an overactive puppy. We’ve been taking Elvis to Barley’s once a week for swim classes. 

The reason I mention Barley’s is that thanks to Elvis’ swim sessions, we discovered a terrific little Thai restaurant adjacent to the doggie rec center called Mana Thai Cafe. We’ve been getting takeout Thai food after the swim sessions to enjoy at home.  

Mana Thai Cafe was a tiny mom and pop eatery that just got bigger. In the past couple of weeks they’ve expanded into the space that was formerly Nuch’s Pizzeria. It has turned what was a hole in the wall with a handful of tables into a more inviting, much larger restaurant. In addition to takeout and dine-in options, Mana Thai now, according to their website, offers free delivery within a prescribed delivery area. 

Lovers of Thai cuisine know that it is characterized by its balance of flavors—spicy, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Dishes often combine these elements to create a harmonious taste. That is certainly true at Mana Thai Cafe, where common Thai ingredients such as cilantro, basil (especially Thai basil), mint, and lemongrass along with spices like chili, garlic, and galangal are essential for flavor. Noodle and jasmine rice dishes are staples of Thai cooking and that is also true at Mana. 

There are a plethora of appetizers offered at Mana Thai Cafe, including fresh spring rolls with shrimp, tofu or crab ($7.95), chicken satay skewers ($9.95) with peanut and cucumber sauce, Thai pork and shrimp dumplings with fried garlic and black sweet sauce ($8.95), coconut shrimp ($8.95), lightly battered and fried tofu with sweet chili sauce and peanuts ($7.95), and many more. 

Thai Basil Noodles

Noodles dishes include the standards you see at most Thai restaurants – pad Thai ($16.95), drunken noodles ($16.95), pad see ew ($16.95), woon sen pad Thai ($16.95) and the like. But there are also some dishes that you don’t see everywhere such as the popular Thai street food called kee mao noodles – pan fried flat noodles with peppers, krachai, egg, onion, broccoli, carrot, tomato, Thai basil, and choice of protein ($16.95). A particularly outstanding noodle dish is their Thai basil noodles ($15). It’s a spicy dish of pan-fried flat noodles with well-seasoned ground chicken, fiery Thai chilies, and a fried egg on top. I can eat those Thai basil noodles every week, and usually do. Portions are generous at Mana Thai Cafe so we normally have leftovers to enjoy. 

Massaman Curry

There are 10 different Thai curries at Mana, including typical ones like massaman curry, red curry, panang curry, and green curry, but also some not-so-common curries like avocado curry, pineapple curry, mango curry, and pumpkin curry. Curries run from $16.95, depending on protein choices – chicken pork, shrimp, tofu, beef, etc. I especially liked the spicy – we ordered Level 4 out of 5 spiciness – massaman curry with tender pork slices bathed in a silky, delicious curry made with coconut milk, potatoes, onions and carrots, topped with peanuts and served with jasmine rice ($16.95). 

Jasmine & Red Rice

The rice that comes with curries and some other dishes at Mana Thai is unique. It’s a pilaf-style blend of jasmine rice with red rice which gives it more eye appeal and texture than plain steamed jasmine rice. 

Thai Basil Fried Rice

Speaking of rice, there’s an abundance of rice dishes on the Mana Thai Cafe menu, as well. They include kao moo ping ($16.95), which is sweet grilled pork with jasmine rice and stir-fried veggies; beef Thai basil stew over rice called ka prow ($19.95); kao kai jeaw – a Thai omelet on rice with a spicy sauce; crispy Thai basil chicken over rice, and many more. My wife and I really like the Thai basil fried rice with shrimp ($19.95) – stir-fried jasmine rice with green bell pepper strips, bamboo shoots, egg, carrot and onion, topped with crispy fried Thai basil and cucumber on the side. If you want a really indulgent everything-but-the-kitchen-sink rice dish, order the Mana fried rice (from $20.95). It’s jasmine rice stir-fried with shrimp paste, egg, chicken, pork, beef and shrimp, plus broccoli, carrot, onion, tomato, bean sprouts, cabbage, and green onion, topped with white pepper served with cucumber. 

If you have water-loving dogs, I recommend visiting Barley’s Canine Recreation Center with them. It’s a blast for both them and their owners. And, whether you have dogs or not I strongly recommend stopping in for a delectable Thai meal at Mana Thai Cafe. The folks who run the place are super friendly and the food is fab. 

Photos by Ted Scheffler

Culinary quote of the week: “A converted cannibal is one who, on Friday, eats only fishermen.” – Emily Lotney

Feature Image: Photo courtesy of Alyssa Kowalski on Unsplash