Pai Northern Thai Kitchen

Name: Pai Northern Thai Kitchen
Location: 18 Duncan St, Toronto
Cuisine: Thai
Website: http://www.paitoronto.com/menu/
Rating: 5/5

This past year, I had become obsessed with Thai food, whether that was attempting to make it at home or going out to restaurants to have it. Apart from the popular curry and pad thai, I had never stepped out of my comfort zone to try other items, and it wasn't until I visited Pai when I started discovering new and exciting dishes.

Pai has gained massive popularity throughout the years, keeping the restaurant constantly busy during lunch and dinner hours. They offer distinct flavours of Northern Thai cuisine, giving customers a taste of Thailand.

Gai Satay ($12.50)

Grilled curry marinated chicken on a skewer with peanut sauce

Their chicken skewers were probably the I've ever had! The chicken was very juicy and tender, and the peanut sauce added a delicious mix of nutty, sweet and tangy flavours.

Laap Salad ($15)

Ground pork in a homemade northern Thai laap paste

with peppercorn, garlic, shallots, galangal, lemongrass,

shrimp paste and fennel served with lettuce leaves and sticky rice.

This was my first time trying a Laap Salad and I was intrigued by all the different ingredients that went into making this dish. It reminded me of having Korean "ssam", which is a dish where you wrap meat, rice and sauce in a leafy green vegetable. We weren't quite sure how to properly eat the salad, but we ate it as how we would with ssam, wrapping the pork and rice in the lettuce. I really enjoyed this dish because the pork mix had a delicious complexity of flavours with a strong kick from the chilies. The slices of cucumber added a refreshing touch to help balance out the spice.

Starter Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp ($6.50)
A small savoury, spicy and sour soup with
lemongrass, coriander and green onions.

If you're a fan of sour foods like me, you will love this tom yum soup! The soup was very rich, spicy and sour, a great pick-me-up for someone who's feeling under the weather.

Pad Gra Prow with Beef ($15)
Stir fried ground beef with holy basil and oyster sauce and served on
steamed jasmine rice and topped with a Thai style fried egg.
Sauce: nam plik nam pla (fish sauce, garlic, chili and lime)

The pad gra prow with beef was one of the new dishes I fell in love with. The stir fried ground beef was extremely flavourful and mouthwatering. I like to cut the egg into small pieces and mix everything together, drizzled with their fish sauce and chili oil. If you'd like to try a new dish, but not keen on being too adventurous, I highly recommend this dish!

Okanagan Spring ($7.75)

Khao Soi with Shrimp ($17)
Fresh egg noodles in a golden curry topped with
crispy noodles, coriander, green onions and shrimp.

Another fantastic new dish that I tried. The golden curry was delicious and had a thick and creamy consistency, and the egg noodles were very soft and fresh. I recommend the Khao Soi if you're looking for a hearty dish.

I have to say that Pai is one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto and if I lived downtown I would probably eat there once a week. Check them out if you haven't already, you will fall in love with their food!

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