Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen
1262 Danforth Avenue
416-778-1388
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and pot of tea: $38

My eating mates and I are not high-brow but we do have high expectations for vegetarian cuisine. Reviews on the website Chowhound allude to delicious grub at Jean’s Vegetarian Kitchen. With comments such as, “the menu is more adventurous than before”, “awesome Thai”, or even, “The William Shatner of Toronto’s dining scene. Just when you think they’re gone for good, they pop up again in an even more delicious context”, reviews more or less glow. Many a vegetarian top-ten holds the name, Jean’s Veggie.

Continue reading Fresh Isn’t Always Enough »

Pi-Tom’s Thai Cuisine
6 Alexander Street
416-966-1813
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and fruit shakes: $50

There is rarely a block in Toronto that does not contain a Thai restaurant , making it a gamble to find a gem among the duds that serve up ketchup drenched Pad Thai and bland curry. So with a hankering for spicy soup and spring rolls several months back, I stumbled into Pi-Tom’s, hoping for the best – luckily, I made a good bet.

Continue reading Pi Tom’s - Flavours to Savour »

Thai Chef
233 Roncesvalles Avenue
416-915-0095
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip and iced tea: $57

The first thing I thought when I walked into Thai Chef was “Oh dear, this is going to take a long, long time.” It was semi-crowded, and the waitresses were rushing around looking, well, rushed. Vacated tables had not been cleared. We almost went somewhere else, but we were there and we were hungry, and I had noticed a lot of the restaurants we had passed on the way had been closed either for Victoria Day or were closed on Mondays in general. So we stayed.

We were seated quickly, at a table under the gaze of a pretty, yellow and bejewelled statute of a Thai woman, two-thirds life size. With 108 menu items, the choosing took awhile. Despite all the pleasant menu perusing, we still waited a while to have our order taken, and I thought it was going to take forever for our meal to come. Pleasant surprise: our drinks, soup and appetizer came very quickly. Unpleasant surprise: the Shrimp Chips with Peanut Sauce ($3.50) were slightly stale, and oddly thin, yet dense. They were like something that would come from a health food store in the low fat section. My husband said they tasted “partially hydrogenated,” but I really don’t think that is a flavour. The peanut sauce that accompanied them was good, though a bit peanut-buttery.

Continue reading Good Food, Bad Service at Thai Chef »

Salad King
335 Yonge Street
416-971-7041
Lunch for two plus appetizer, tax, and tip: $21

With all of two salads on its menu, Salad King doesn’t seem like a restaurant boasting the amazing Thai food it serves. Even the “Hot Thai Food” neon light above the doorway seems tiny in comparison, but I guess that’s their way of being modest. With both Salad King and Linda open upstairs, Salad King’s still always packed.

One thing I’ll never forget is the first time I returned to Hong Kong. The moment I stepped off the plane, a blast of hot air engulfed me whole. Walking into Salad King isn’t a harsh introduction to a warm new climate, but breathing in the smells has a similar effect. To me, that aroma is very welcoming; better to bask in it than complain about waiting in line, right? Besides, think about how hard the restaurant staff works to satiate the hunger pangs of endless customers. We can’t help but love them for it; despite the many times I’ve been squished into those jailhouse cafeteria benches, and despite the two servers who (so my friends and I believe) don’t like us.

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