| rev:text
| - After having spent months spoofing Torontonians with potential concepts such as God Bless 'Merica, Cakehole and New Delhi Burgers, this Queen West joint finally revealed itself to be Nana, Monte Wan (Khao San Road)'s newest venture.
Khao San Road, along with the Sukho Thai were the pioneers in elevating Thai cuisine beyond your ketchup-y, chain-quality pad thai. So naturally, Wan is sticking to what he does best.
The decor is reminiscent of the streets of Bangkok, with the Thai flag and various bright-colored banners hanging above. The restaurant seats about 30-35, mostly communal tables and a few seats at the bar.
The cocktail menu was crafted by Bevlab and are Thai-inspired versions of your classics like the Jatujjak "jin & juice." Most of the descriptions lead me to believe they would all be syrupy concoctions, of the Karaoke bar-variety so I ask the server for the least sugar-laced one.
He suggests the Bang Rak ($12), a star anise-infused vodka concoction with ginger syrup, lychee nectar and grapefruit bitters. The drink arrives at the table and perhaps my alcohol tolerance is just higher than others, but it still errs on the side of sweet and if it's the strongest drink they've got - I'm going to need a few more. Despite that, it's a delicious drink. But the Chang lager is just as good a bet, and wonderfully refreshing. Added bonus? It's only $6.
Similar menu offerings from Khao San Road are seen, such as the khao soi, albeit the Nana iteration subs chicken for beef. There's pad Thai bolan, and when prompted as to what bolan means, our server tells us it simply means "authentic."
We order the Southern fried chicken laab ($12) to start, an offering straight out of KFC Thailand's books. It's similar to Taiwanese popcorn chicken and I absolutely love the different combination of sweet and salty with citrus notes as well.
We then order the fresh rolls with pork ($8) which are not as refreshing as their Vietnamese counterpart. The rice paper is double-layered, the presentation more sushi than fresh roll. I preferred the rolls better sans dipping sauce as it allowed you to actually taste the spices in the pork.
For our mains we skip over the khao soi and red and yellow curries and opt for the Chef Top's fried rice ($16) with chicken, topped with a crispy fried egg and a side of fish sauce. The addition of basil really does add a bit more oomph to an otherwise pedestrian plate of fried rice.
We also opt for the mi ga ti with pork ($15), a peanut and coconut milk based curry that reminds me of everything I don't like about restaurant Thai food - the broth is too sweet. The coconut milk drowns out any potential peanut flavoring to be had and as I ladle spoonfuls of the curry into my mouth, I can't help but think of the che dau that my grandmother used to make at home (a Vietnamese dessert of glutinous rice and black eyed beans doused with a generous ladle of coconut cream).
The dishes we order aren't particular spicy, but there was a tray of chilies in all their different iterations available - fresh, dried, fried and in vinegar.
We ask the staff what the "Special"roti ($8) is, but are denied any explanation beyond "I'm sworn to secrecy but I can promise you that it's good and that you'll like it." He'll have to add this deception to his list of laundry items at his next confession as we are sorely disappointed.
The saltiness of the roti dominates and the little bit of condensed milk drizzle fails to save the day. If only the seasoning of the mi ga ti pork and the dessert roti could've been reversed... The server comes back to ask us if we liked his recommendation, we tell him "unfortunately not." Oh well, at least we know a portion of the proceeds will go to Meal Share.
The much better bet is to go for the Thai tea gelato ($5). You get three scoops and its definitely not as sugary as the actual drink itself. While I am normally disappointed by tea-based desserts as they seldom pack in enough tea flavor - this one did not let me down.
There were a few hits (mainly the chicken laab and the Thai tea gelato). But I still prefer Khao San Road - even if it means having to wait in line.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)