Restaurants
Thai Bangkok Restaurant: Cozy Hideaway on Spadina
Walking home on a bitterly cold January evening is hardly my idea of a good time, but one positive side-effect is friends' willingness to try out any restaurant I pick - just so long as it has some form of central heating.
We'd only been walking a few minutes when I suggested the cozy and inviting Thai Bangkok Restaurant on Spadina. Between dim lights, Thai-inspired decor and photos of spicy noodles in the window, it was an easy sell. We walk in and are quickly greeted by a friendly waitress, already carrying a pot of hot tea for everyone.
Browsing the shiny laminated pages of the menu, there are plenty of entree choices (mostly $6.95-$8.95). For variety, we choose from four different sections and then kick back to wait while enjoying an order of crispy home-made Spring Rolls ($3.95).
Tom Ka Kai Soup arrives first and fills the room with the sweet smell of its feature ingredient: coconut milk. Close your eyes now and imagine tender chicken, mushrooms and lemongrass along with a side of fresh jasmine rice ($1) all mixed into a light, yet rich, milky broth, and you can begin to see this simple soup could quite well be the ultimate winter meal.
Spicy Tofu & Vegetables along with Cashew Nut Chicken arrive next. Both are pretty standard finds at most Thai and Asian-fusion restos, so Thai Bangkok shows a little extra care in preparation to make sure we remember theirs.
Our sides of rice are star-shaped (how cute) and the dishes are both packed with a wealth of freshly chopped veggies and tangy sauce. The tofu dish could have been spicier, but the cashew nut chicken is indeed super-nutty (that's right). When they say 'cashew' here, they really mean it.
An order of Glass Noodles doesn't disappoint either. The delicate soy-infused noodles are stir-fried with egg, tofu, broccoli, shredded carrots, bok choy, and Asian mushrooms - delicious as a standalone dinner or for sharing.
Just as we were ready to ask for the bill, the waitress appears with complimentary sliced watermelon to end the meal off on a sweet note... just one more reminder of all the special touches Thai Bangkok Restaurant brings to the table.
I've definitely found my new favourite Thai hideaway in the city.
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Good food, pricing, some thought given to details like presentation and the environment is wonderfully comfortable compared to the fluorescence of most of Chinatown.
Maybe it might mend your heart a little if I told you that the reason they backed off from their late-night hours is the Chef was recently married!
They just want a little more time at home with family - hehe. I agree about the presentation / decor - it's a nice change from the fluorescents in most Spadina eateries.
Yes, the star-shaped rice is cute, but they also do this at Coco Rice at King & Bathurst and they're food doesn't make you queasy.
http://lukemckinney.blogspot.com/2007/06/review-thai-bangkok-restaurant-412.html
So, at least I'm not the only person in Toronto who finds the service lacking and the food unappetizing.
Tanja, re: Coco Rice - I've never heard a bad mention till today.
yum lover, you're right - I should have requested they make my dish spicy. However, considering that the name of the dish is "Spicy Eggplant" I didn't think it was necessary. Lesson learned.