A different kind of Thai: Paddler Thai Boat Noodles

 

Paddler Thai Boat Noodles

I have fond memories of getting Pad Thai from street carts in Bangkok. It is still my favourite noodles of all time. In Bangkok, I also had the hottest curry in some hole in the wall joint, where every bite required a sip of Pepsi. And while I have visited the floating market, I have not tried boat noodles before. In fact, I have not heard of boat noodles until I was looking for a place to eat in the Parkdale area where we were going to find ourselves during dinner time on a weekday. While I wanted to try some Tibetan cuisine in Little Tibet, I couldn’t resist not trying the boat noodles at Paddler. Kuaytiaw – Rua or boat noodles are  sold by vendors in the floating markets. Vendors would cook noodles on board small boats and sell them to people on shore or on other boats.  How could I not try that?

Hubby started with Crisp Fried Quail Egg Wonton. Nicely deep fried and served with house plum sauce. It was a nice appetizer and tastes exactly as the name of the dish—it was quail egg wrapped in wonton wrapper and crisp fried. There was simply no other way to describe it.

Of course, we got their Signature Boat Noodles. We first chose the type of noodles (small rice, medium rice, flat rice or egg noodles). Then, we chose our protein (beef or pork). I got medium rice noodles with beef (braised, sliced, and beef balls) which arrived in this beautiful broth (made by using pig or cow blood and dark soy sauce, well balanced with some coconut milk and chili oil). Thai herbs, sprouts, cilantro, fried garlic and dried chili peppers bring it all together. It was served with pork rind which provided a nice crunch. The broth was just absolutely delicious. It was tangy, spicy and full of flavour. It definitely hits the spot. DD#1, a soup lover, has declared it to now be her favourite soup. Ramen and Pho have now been dethroned.

Boat Noodles at Paddler

Grandma, who was not in the mood for soup, got the dry boat noodles, which is also very traditional. The noodles also come with protein and is brought together by chili oil and dried chilies, cilantro and also some dried coconut.

Dry Boat noodles at Paddler

Service was good, though there was a bit of a wait (20-30 min). Overall, super worth it. And while we talked of coming back to the area to have a Tibetan meal, I wager we will end up here in Paddler again.

The world is our oyster: Happy hour at Oyster Mine

 

Malpeque oysters @Oystermine

Hubby and I love oysters and, in the past few years, the girls have acquired the love for these as well. So, for a special occasion we were celebrating for DD#1, her request for oysters was granted. I searched for an oyster place which still offered a Buck a Shuck on the day we were going out for dinner. I found Oyster Mine in mid-town Yonge and Eglinton and made our reservation. I actually called an hour before our reservation to pre-order the seafood paella (Grandma’s favourite) which was supposed to take 45 minutes. I was hoping they would have it ready shortly after we arrived.

We ordered our cocktails and mocktails (as drinks needed to be ordered to avail of the $1 oysters) along with Malpeque oysters. The oysters were on the smallish side, under 3inches, but were fresh and delicious. DD#1 was especially happy at having as many oysters as she wanted – we ended up sharing 50!

Seafood paella @Oystermine

The paella, however, arrived 45 minutes after we arrived (when I reconfirmed my pre-order) so it was practically like I didn’t pre-order at all. While it was not the traditional paella, it was tasty and we all enjoyed it.

Overall service was good. However, do keep in mind that they do take a deposit for reservation and include an automatic 20% service charge (for groups of 5 or more).