Don’t let their location at an independent gas station scare
you, the Thai food at Kub Khao is legit. The store front dining room may look
dingy, but the seating area at the back is colourful and cheerful, the tapestry
reminiscent of the lovely woven textiles across Thailand. Accordingly, if décor
is important, ask to be sat in the back.
Sadly, their moo ping
($6.95) wasn’t the slightly spicy version I found at Destination Thailand, but
still decent. The grilled pork skewer are glazed in a sweet tangy tamarind sauce
with more on the side. They’re hot and tender, served quickly so they’re almost
as fresh as a street vendor handing you one fresh from the grill.
The chicken pad kee mao ($11.95) uses wide flat rice
noodles stir fried with egg and vegetables. It may look like your
run-of-the-mill noodles, but watch out for the whole green peppercorns hidden
throughout, which adds an earthy heat to the dish (albeit more subdued that the
strong black peppercorn).
With the shrimp paste coating the rice kernels, the smoked
chili fried rice ($10.95) was delicious – something I’d definitely order again.
This works well as a vegetarian dish incorporating tofu puffs that add a soft
crunchiness against the tender rice. Even though there was a chili on the menu,
the rice wasn’t spicy, rather having a nice savoury essence.
As you scoop the beef green curry ($11.95), get to the
bottom of the bowl as the chopped banana peppers settles there. For the first
serving, I found it was just creamy and sweet from the coconut milk – still
good but far too commercial tasting. I even had to ask for hot sauce just to
give it heat. However, the second serving, after reaching the chili
sediments at the bottom, we felt the tinge of spice, which really makes the
curry. Although the dish already comes with steamed rice you should opt for an
extra order ($2), why waste any of the lovely sauce, the best part of the curry.
Perhaps it was due to the holiday season, but there were
only two people working at the front of the house during our week night visit.
Even though service was slow (due to the sheer size of the restaurant that
needs to be managed by two workers), I must commend how quickly they were
operating.
The mom and pop operation means stir fried dishes come out
slowly, so I’d suggest getting some appetizers if you’re hungry as they arrive
quicker. Moreover, the noodle and rice dishes aren’t overly large so a couple
of starters amongst a table of four isn’t a lot. Just be patient. Eating at Kub
Khao may not be speedy, but what you’ll get is much better than the ketchup-laced
pad thai of the suburbs any day.
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 3561 Sheppard Avenue East
Address: 3561 Sheppard Avenue East
Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
