Dok Mali Noodle Bar. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer Nonglack Thanephonesy, the chef/owner of Portland’s Dok Mali has no illusions about how nearby Middle Street has contributed to her Thai restaurant’s well-deserved popularity. “It’s right there, close to Duckfat, Honey Paw, Micucci’s, Eventide.
..It’s a well-known, very busy area that people come to for food,” she said.
“Especially tourists. That’s where they go.” Thanephonesy’s newest restaurant, the pan-Asian Dok Mali Noodle Bar, sits on the edge of South Portland’s Knightville neighborhood and does not benefit from the same geographical advantages.
Sure, there’s a pair of excellent dining spots on the same block: SoPo Seafood and Café Louis. But their gravitational pull on diners is limited, by comparison. Yet Thanephonesy isn’t daunted.
“Here, it’s a different group of customers, and it’s mostly locals,” she said. “A lot of people who came to the India Street Dok Mali and became regulars, a lot of families, and a lot of people who live in Cape Elizabeth and South Portland and don’t want to cross the bridge.” She also acknowledges that without overspill from several buzzy hotspots, the Noodle Bar has to attract customers entirely on its own.
“Yes, it’s harder because I know that here, people have to travel just for me.” Judging by the full house I encountered when I visited a few weeks ago, enticing diners to her cozy, 24-seat restaurant hasn’t been much of a challenge. I.