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Teresa Gubbins, staff:

Overall:

• Quality:

  1/5

• Vibe:

  3/5

• Service:

  4/5

• Value:

  2/5

Just had a disappointing lunch at Malai. The green papaya salad was fine but the coconut cream pie has gone from good to bad.

Last time i had it, it had a coconut crust that was chewy and sweet, like a macaroon candy. The coconut custard had an exciting texture -- firm-yet-quivering -- and i appreciated their choice to top it with meringue rather than whipped cream. With a "tamarind" caramel sauce, coconut ice cream, and julienned strips of mango, the whole thing seemed tropical and fresh.

This time, the dessert tasted quite unpleasant, a combination of weirdly sour and overly sweet. The crust had lost its candied crisp edge. The custard seemed fakey-firm and gelatinous, and had no flavor other than sickly sweet.

The meringue was flat and almost mealy. The mango didn't seem fresh. The tamarind caramel sauce was opaque and clumpy - more like brown gravy than a true caramel sauce. The coconut ice cream was stiff and chalky.

Apparently their original chef Keith Cedotal has left, and co-owner Braden Wages is now in the kitchen.

I've been going around praising this dessert as something special, but I won't be doing that anymore.