Phat Kaphrao
Phat Kaphrao is named for their signature dish, a Bangkok street food stir fry made with holy basil and topped with a fried egg.
The rest of the menu also sticks to a traditional style of Bangkok street food, curries and sauces made from scratch in house.
Though there are only four stools in the postage stamp restaurant, you can still dine in here, pounding music combined with clanking equipment pouring out of the kitchen.
Mango salad ($8.95) is nicely portioned, well-julienned ripe green mango combined with bell pepper, red and green onion, carrot, cilantro, cashew and peanut. Crispy taro on top takes this to the next level, the root veg incorporated into the menu in several unexpected ways.
A spicy papaya salad ($7.95) is prepared traditionally using a giant mortar and pestle, palm sugar, fresh chilies and lots of garlic pounded with raw sliced papaya, crushed peanuts, tomato, carrot, green bean, shrimp paste and lime.
Add salted crab for a $2 upcharge, meat fermented in the shell and salted. Black, soft and very salty, it’s certainly an acquired taste.
Veggie spring rolls ($4.95) are filled with mushroom, glass noodles, and taro, which adds a little starchiness.
Crispy tofu ($6.95) is snow white and firm on the inside, with a seasoned garlic rice flour coating on the outside, served with a sweet Thai chili dipping sauce with peanut and cilantro.
Thai chicken wings are $11.95 for a spicy cashew variety, lightly battered and fried in a sticky prik pao sauce that’s funky and fishy.
Traditional street style pad thai ($12.95) stir fries rice noodles with bean sprouts, green onions, eggs, lots of lime and a house tamarind sauce with a little vinegar to bring out all the bold flavours.
Massaman curry ($12.95) is a creamy coconut curry with Thai chilies, herbs, potato, onion, broccoli, carrot and crushed peanuts instead of the whole ones I typically prefer, though there’s still lots of roasty peanut flavour.
Phat kaphrao ($12.95) is made with beef for a $2 upcharge, the flavourful signature stir fry of holy basil, bell pepper, green bean, onion, chilies and a stalk of pickled young peppercorn served over rice with an enriching fried egg on top.
Mango sticky rice ($7.95) completes a meal here.
A mango smoothie ($4.95) is a simple, dense combination of mango puree, condensed milk, ice, and sometimes a little mango juice.
Thai iced tea ($4.25) is made using Thai tea leaves steeped in house, combined with thickly sweet condensed milk and evaporated milk over crushed ice.
Thai flags hang above the cash, souvenir elephants and tuk tuks adding detail to the tiny space.
Hector Vasquez