Royal Thai Dining at Kiin

Kiin

I have always loved Thai food. It is one of my favourite cuisines, if not THE favourite. I will happily go for Thai food every week if I can. Hubby discovered and took me to Kiin, specializing in Royal Thai cuisine. 

We tried the 7-course Tasting Menu and it was divine. It was a nice break from the traditional spicy, punchy flavour of Thai cuisine. Royal Thai is more nuanced and balanced, without overwhelming the senses with one flavour in particular, and in a lavish presentation. All the dishes had a subtle Thai taste--a hint of tamarind, a drop of tom yum. And, it was so creatively presented that it seemed a crime to eat! Fit for royalty!

For amuse-bouche, we had the Khao Tung Na Tang (Crispy Rice Cracker). The ground pork on rice cracker was beautifully presented and wonderfully tasty, setting the tone for the rest of the meal. The rice cracker was airy and the subtle curry was not spicy.

Khao Tung Na Tang @Kiin

Then we had the Chut Arharn Wang (Snack Set), another dish we ate with our hands, which was a trio of 

Khanom Jeeb Nok (traditional Thai royal dumpling delicately-shaped as a peacock)--so pretty! The texture was delicate with the dumpling wrapper not being thick or chunky even if there were a lot of meticulously-crafted  "feathers" on the peacock. Again, the ground meat was flavourful and not overwhelming. Hints of tamarind pop up now and then.

Kung Sarong (deep fried prawns are wrapped in vermicelli noodles)--again, another pretty one! The vermicelli wrapping the prawn was in a braid and nicely deep fried.

Neua Yang Jim Jaew (marinated, grilled Wagyu)--our favourite among the three! The Wagyu was truly melt-in-your-mouth, with a smoky, grilled taste. The marinade was sweet and tangy. I could eat a full 6-7 ounces of this if I didn't know there were 5 other dishes coming!

Chut Arharn Wang @Kiin

The second appetizer was Yum Tua Plu Pla Muk (Octopus with Wing Bean Salad). The  server advised us to mix it all together instead of eating the octopus separately from the salad. The octopus was just grilled and I can see why it will lack flavour if you don't have it along with the wing beans. The salad was a wonderful balance of tart and spice. The chewy octupus along with the crunchy bits of the salad make the whole dish come alive with a mixture of textures!

Yum Tua Plu Pla Muk @Kiin

Hubby and I especially loved the soup, Tom Kha Pla (Hot & Sour Coconut Soup with Fish). The tangy coconut soup had spots of chili oil to give a bit of a kick. The fish was flaky and fresh, and so fun to eat with another mini-fish on top!

Tom Kha Pla @Kiin

The first main dish was Gaeng Massaman Ped (Massaman Curry with Duck Breast). We haven't had duck breast served this way before, like a rare-cooked steak. The Massaman curry gives the duck more flavour, but this was the dish which was just ok, in my opinion. The curry was on the sweet side and added to the duck, a bit too rich for me.

 Gaeng Massaman Ped @Kiin

We really enjoyed the second main dish, Gae Yang Nam Prik Ong (Grilled Lamb with Tomato-Chilli Chutney). The vegetables and chutney on the mini shoulder pole was too cute! The grilled lamb was as perfectly done as the wagyu. The delicious marinade brought out the flavours of the lamb chop. I alternated the bites with sticky rice and the chutney, getting a new taste with every mouthful. This dish was oh so good!

Gae Yang Nam Prik Ong @Kiin

Then, our palates were cleansed with the Lychee and Yuzu Sphere, a big popping boba explosion to set us up for dessert.

Lychee and Yuzu Sphere @Kiin

We ended with two desserts. The first was Khanom Sai Sai (Steamed Pandan Coconut Cream), which hubby really liked.  The glutinous flour with coconut cream was topped with a pandan sorbet, which was nicely subtle.

Khanom Sai Sai@Kiin

I preferred the second dessert, Khek Toffee Met Mamuang Himmaphan (Magrud Cashew Toffee Cake). This time, they engaged another sense as the infusion gave off such a wonderful aroma of warmth and earthiness. We got a whiff of good things to come with every bite! The crunch from the cashew toffee, chewiness of the cake, the beautiful plant-shaped crackers and the floral, fruity scent, rounded out a most delightful meal for all the senses! 

Khek Toffee Met Mamuang Himmaphan @Kiin

Kiin lived up to serving tradition with a contemporary twist. The meticulous and modern presentation was a delight! We enjoyed seeing, tasting, touching, and smelling the well thought-out dishes. Sawasdee ka.

New Favourite: Southern Thai dining at Koh Lipe

 

Koh Lipe Scarborough

I love love love Thai Food. I am always in search of some good Thai restaurants especially since my previous favourite, Pai, is such a pain to make reservations (for our group) and get to. Chiang Rai has replaced Pai’s spot in my heart (and stomach) for a while now, but it looks like we have a contender! The fam and I checked out the Michelin Guide’s Koh Lipe in the Scarborough/Markham location! I have heard good things about the Chinatown location but am so glad there’s one a tad bit closer! And we are soooo glad to have discovered this! Now, I understand that Pai specializes on Northern Thai and that Koh Lipe specializes in Southern Thai, but it is Thai to me and I love all of it 😊!

 It took a while to choose what we wanted to try since everything on the menu looked so good! We finally settled on a couple of specials and some classics.  

The staff was friendly and the service was fast. It did not take long to get all of our dishes served!

 To start, we got the Crispy fried smelt which was so yummy! It got us excited about all the other dishes to come! The smelt was topped with crispy garlic and it was delightfully tasty! The green chili dipping sauce gave the perfect sweet and sour taste to balance out some of the oil.

Crispy Smelt @Koh Lipe

 We then got Tom Yum hot pot which was pork bone in Tom Yum soup. The serving was generous and while broth was good, I could use a bit more kick. After a while, we had to ask them to turn off the flame so that the boiling broth does not all evaporate.

Tom Yum Hot Pot @Koh Lipe

 We also got the Chef’s Special Luok Jhim platter which featured steamed mussels, shrimp, squid and fish, rice noodles flavoured with fried garlic, chili-lime sauce and lettuce wraps. We were thinking, after some very good (junk) eating the previous days, maybe we should go for some steamed food. We reminded ourselves later, to make no pretentions going forward! While it was still delicious (seafood tends to always delight this family), this was our least favourite dish. It was just, well, steamed seafood with lettuce wrap and dipping sauce. What did I really expect? Anyway, we vowed to try the Prik Pao Talay (Stir-Fried smoked chilli platter, shrimps, mussels, squid, and clams) next time!

Luok Jhim platter @Koh Lipe

We all definitely enjoyed Mas Sa Man which was a tamarind coconut red curry with peanuts and potato. We got Braised Beef (instead of the Veggies/Tofu version—see why we felt we needed to have the steamed seafood?).  It was just an explosion of flavours in our mouths! Curry with tamarind was something we don’t usually get to try and we really enjoyed the sweet, sour, mildly spicy sauce with the very tender braised beef. It will be a challenge not to order again even if we want to try so many other dishes when we come back.

Mas Sa Man @Koh Lipe

 Of course, we got our usual Pad Thai (with chicken) and it while it was not the best, it still had all the elements we love about this dish--chewy noodles, good sauce (not too much tamarind to make it sour and not too sweet). They didn’t scrimp on the chicken and did not drown the dish with bean sprouts. Will try their Pad See Ew or Pad Kee Mao on our next visit.

Pad Thai (with chicken) @Koh Lipe

 We also got a Honey Longan drink and Thai milk tea which were good to balance out the rich flavours in between bites—and allowed us to eat some more!

drinks @Koh Lipe

 We ended the meal with the mango sticky rice dessert. It came with half a mango atop wonderfully chewy sticky rice and coconut cream. The mango jelly topping was cute but doesn’t really do much to add to the already delightful dessert. It was a wonderful way to end our meal!

Mango Sticky Rice @Koh Lipe

There were Southern Thai specialties we have not tried so we would definitely go back. We think this will now become our new favourite Thai place!

 

Best Tom Yum and Seafood heaven at Jiyu Hotpot

Meal combo @Jiyu Hotpot

When I found out there was a Thai hotpot place in Markham, I immediately marked it as a destination for our next family celebratory meal. It turned out to be a great choice as the food itself was definitely something to celebrate!

Now, our family loves Tom Yum soup. However, in Canada, we have not really found Tom Yum similar to what we enjoyed in Thailand. The ones we had here were either too sweet or too sour. The Tom Yum broth at Jiyu was the best we have had here! We loved it so much, we all estimated we took in a liter each, just of the broth! It certainly hit the spot with just the right blend of spicy, sour and just the right spot of sweet. Ten thumbs up from us!

Abalone on Tom Yum broth @Jiyu Hotpot

We ordered a Meal for 3 combo and a Vancouver Curry Crab to share. Maybe we had all been eating too much these days but the Meal for 3 was just enough for 5 of us. We just brought home the 1-lb Curry crab as we were already too full. The curry was good, though it was more of the Japanese-type sweet curry instead of the Thai curry I would expect. And well, what is not to like about crab? Yummy!

Vancouver Curry Crab @Jiyu Hotpot

Anyway, the Meal for 3 came with shrimp, abalone, snakehead fish, mussels, scallops, octopus, basa fillets, baby cuttlefish, squid, shrimp paste (not bagoong but more of almost pureed shrimp), crabmeat sticks, sliced beef, crown scallops, swimming crab, bamboo mushroom with shrimp and a combo of veggies (napa cabbage, mushroom, spinach, taro). 

Meal combo @Jiyu Hotpot

The presentation was just so delightful, a feast of the eyes! It was almost a shame to remove the food from the display so that we can cook them. Our server helped cook some of the items, which took 1-2 minutes each type/batch. The food was just delicious and the seafood was fresh–we know since we saw crab tanks near the kitchen. We were in seafood heaven. While there was an array of sauces at the counter, we were quite content to just have the seafood with the Tom Yum broth. We did partake of the shrimp crackers and edamame on the side, which we could get to our hearts’ content.

Meal combo @Jiyu Hotpot

Our meal also came with onion rings and fried rice, and as well, All You Can Eat dessert. They had a nice selection of mini cakes (such as mango, tiramisu), grass jelly, pudding, fruits and even soft serve ice cream. It was not the cheapest of meals but it was worth it for us as we were quite full and very happy. Both the quality of the food and the service were very good. I will try my darndest not to crave their Tom Yum soup. I just hope I last until the next occasion to celebrate. 

All you can eat dessert @Jiyu Hotpot

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.

Thai goodness: take out from Chiang Rai Thai Kitchen and Bar

 

Chiang Rai at Kennedy

We had passed by Chiang Rai a few times on our way to the garden centre. I made a mental note to check them out sometime as Thai restaurants are not so prolific in Markham. So, when the craving hit for some Thai food, I ordered at Chiang Rai for pick up. Their pick-up system was so convenient as they had a table set up right at the door—and you didn’t have to go inside the actual restaurant to pick up your order.

When I opened the paper bag at home, I was delighted to see that the containers were made of paper vs styro or plastic! A few brownie points can be deducted though for including plastic cutlery. But I forgive them since they included some personalized lovely notes written on the take-out boxes. What a nice touch and this certainly put in me a positive mood right before diving into our order, with the beautiful aromas wafting out of the bowls.

Panang Curry, Pad Thai, Tom Yum fried rice and Fish Cakes @Chiang Rai

We started with their homemade fish cake. Marinated in red curry paste and served sweet chilli sauce, it was delicious!

For our mains, we got chicken Panang curry: homemade Thai red curry paste with coconut milk, roasted peanuts, red pepper, long green beans, lime leaf and comes with Jasmine rice. We just got medium spicy but now I wonder if getting Thai Spicy would take me back to the streets of Bangkok (which, I know is quite far from Chiang Rai) where I vividly recall practically burning my tongue with the spiciness of the curry! I had to take sips of pop with every.single.bite. I will save this adventure for next time.

The rest of our orders, I chickened out with the spice level and just got mild. I will have to step it up a bit next time. These were all very good, though!

We got their Pad Thai with chicken. It was a decent serving and packed with egg, tofu, and generous amount of chicken. It was pretty good. One of the better Pad Thais around.

The Tom Yum Fried Rice caught my eye when I was perusing the menu. So, I got this with shrimp. It was Yum-my indeed! The stir-fried rice with tom yum sauce was very savoury with just the right amount of sweet and spice!

The fam and I absolutely loved their dishes! The drive to Kennedy road was totally worth it and will do it all over again—maybe next month? 😊 until then…