Khao San Road - Hip and Yummmyy

Our Order

2 Mango Juice

2 Tom Yum Goong Soup

1 Po Pia Pak Sod Gai Yaw / Chicken Sausage Rice Rolls with Vegetables

1 Gaeng Kaew Wan Beef / Green Curry with Beef

1 Jasmine rice

1 Pad Thai Chicken (Sam Roas) 

Pre-Thoughts

When I visited Thailand two years ago in December, I fell in love with the country completely. The temples in Bangkok were just glorious, they were so large and so ornate, every inch was covered in gold leaf, painted flowers and life sized statues lined the walls. 

Yours Truly at Bangkok, Thailand

After Bangkok we went to Hua Hin, a beach-side city were the aristocrats used to go on their vacations. Here I had some of the most amazing Thai food. 

I've been searching for a really authentic Thai place in Toronto. One such place was Thai Bistro located south of Yonge and Finch. The food here is very authentic and brings me back to Hua Hin immediately. The only problem was... Well, the interior reaallly could use an update. Its more of a take-out place than anything...

One day my friend told me about this amazing place downtown that is sweeping Toronto by a storm. Khao San Road was being mentioned in magazines and food blogs, getting really good reviews. On a Wednesday evening we decided to make the trip downtown. 

Service

We parked on the street and walked towards the restaurant. It was located in the lower level of a building and we could see that there was a line that was at least 20 people long. 

The person at front turned out to be the owner of the restaurant. He made sure that everyone was able to get to their tables in a timely orderly fashion. When we walked in, he put our name on a clipboard and told us he'll tell us when our table was ready. A lot of people looked like they were waiting a long time. We were asked to wait for at least 45 minutes, so we did! This is saying a lot because both of us don't really like to wait any longer than a few minutes for a table. 

We were seated on the bar and the waitress was so accommodating. She kindly explained to us whatever questions we had. The service was also really efficient and quick, but not rushed. 

Ambience

The decor was very hipster, the kind that is hitting Toronto by a storm. Whimsical paintings lined the walls, tables were very close together. Some high group tables were placed near the front, smaller tables at the back and a bar resto in the middle - the big chalkboard... Pretty much the exact same layout as Pizzeria Libretto. 

To me, the 'hipster' decor was soo authentic Thai for me. The bistros and hip restaurants in Thailand are all like Khao San Road. They have a modern pop-art feeling to them. In Toronto we have all the formal classic style Thai restaurants, with the little statues, gold leafing and paper chandeliers hanging here and there. This restaurant is nothing like that sort, so its really nice and refreshing to see the decor reflect the modern Thai bistro cuisine.  

My only quibble would be that the music was pop-thai and kind of loud. It gave me a bit of a headache and I had to leave soon after the meal was over. I understand they are trying to make the ambience festive and lively and promote lots of talking, but maybe it was all the work I had to do during the day, the volume was a bit loud. An intimate date/dinner would be a no, night out with friends is a yes.

Yum?

Mango Juice 

The waitress suggested we have some mango juice to add more vitamins to our bodies since it was so cold outside. We kind of expected fresh mango juice, but it came in a can.... Mmm... Not impressive.

Po Pia Pak Sod Gai Yaw / Chicken Sausage Rice Rolls with Vegetables

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of this!

The sausage rolls were interesting. I was sort of expecting the cold rolls I usually find at viet/thai restaurants. This was a little different in that instead of the usual chicken or cold shrimp, the meat was chicken sausage. The chicken sausage was herb-spiced ground up chicken cut up into strips. Along with the herbs and vegetables it was really fragrant and the dip was a great compliment. I personally didn't like chicken sausage but this is because I just don't like chicken sausage in general. I prefer my chicken to be marinated and not ground... And the chicken ground up with herbs was kind of odd for me. So this would be a more-than biased - I probably wouldn't order it again. 

Tom Yum Goong Soup 

This was the featured soup that day. It had very strong lime and cilantro flavour to increase your appetite. I loved how the flavours were so fresh and had such kick. My friend didn't like this at all, if you're not a cilantro person you probably wouldn't enjoy it as much.

Gaeng Kaew Wan Beef / Green Curry with Beef

This curry was really good. It was creamy with the coconut milk, but not overly so. The paste tasted delicate and a bit spicy. The flavours weren't very strong or overpowering, it wasn't spicy just a little kick. Just pleasant. Wholesome goodness. I would assume most people would enjoy this, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary though. We both thought that it could use some more vegetables inside to mix with the rice. 

Pad Thai Chicken (Sam Roas) 

We asked for it spicy. It came out quite spicy actually, I was satisfied with the level of spice but my friend had a bit of trouble dealing with it. I loved this dish. It was sticky, sweet and so flavourful. The sauce was really complex. It had no ketchup in it but the sauce was tomato-paste-based, which made it authentic-tasting. The chicken was tender and the vegetables were fresh. The portion was there. I also loved how they didn't over-cook or under-cook the bean sprouts. Gave the dish a nice mouth-feel. This would be the star of the night. 

Conclusion
I enjoyed myself. I would pass on the cold rolls... The soup was a nice start.

Would definitely go for pad thai again but maybe not so spicy. I would ask for more vegetables in the curry. I would go with friends but be prepared to wait a while.

Overall, a very authentic Thai bistro that I would be happy to return to!