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| - There's a relatively uncharted niche of Thai cuisine that's landed in Toronto by way of Kiin--Royal Thai. Royal Thai is just what it sounds like. It's opulent. It's elevated. And most importantly, it's delicious.
Kiin, meaning "eat" in Thai, is a partnership between Jeff Regular and Nuit Regular, the husband and wife team behind Toronto's rapidly expanding Thai empire (Pai, Sabai Sabai, Sukhothai), and Janet Zuccarini (Gusto 101, Trattoria Nervosa, Pai).
Nuit Regular was raised in Thailand and always dreamed of opening a restaurant where she could share her love of this opulent and less common form of Thai cuisine with others. Through Kiin's menu, she has elevated the Thai staples we have come to know (think: satays, Pad Thai, curries) in an intimate lower-level space that is more mature and refined that its sister restaurants. Kiin incorporates familiar flavours of traditional Thai cuisine (lemongrass, kaffir lime, coconut, coriander) and even imports nearly all of its ingredients from Thailand to perfect the flavour profile of each dish.
Unlike some of the Regular's other restaurants, Thai street food is absent from this menu. Kiin has a sharable, interactive menu that showcases food fit for a king (or a queen in my case...). It's a curation of Royal Thai favourites as well as dishes from Nuit's childhood.
I had the pleasure of meeting the Regulars while I was dining there one evening. For owning a mini empire of restaurants, the couple is humble, gracious and hospitable. Nuit shared a story about how the yum tua plu (wing bean salad) was once a secret recipe that was exclusive to the Thai royal family's staff. She spent several years in culinary school to learn more about her native cuisine and honed the recipes that are now being enjoyed at Kiin.
My guest and I put all of our decisions in the hands of our lovely server, who seemed to have another gig as an actress. Her storytelling was on point and she described each dish with detail as it was presented to us. There were far more standouts than mishaps.
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