Khao San Road

Holy moley this place was BUSY!  Our party of 5 was lucky enough to be seated 1 hour after they opened their doors for their Saturday night dinner service.  The line just got longer and longer while we ate our dinner.

Before we even sat down for dinner, we all knew what we were going to order.  We studied the menu while we waited in line, how else were we supposed to kill 1 hour?  I actually knew what I wanted before we got to the restaurant, but thats just how I am.  I like to look at menus as soon as I know what restaurant we plan on going to. We ordered Garlic Tofu, Gra Bong (Squash Fritters), Gaeng Kaew Wan (Green Curry), Sam Roas (Chef's Special Pad Thai), Chicken Pad Gra Prao, Khao Soi and Cha Nom Yen (Thai Iced Tea).

Garlic Tofu, aside from the garlic in the sauce, I couldn't taste much garlic on the tofu.  There was really good basil flavor.  Gra Bong was really good too!  Something so simple, delicious! We loved both the appetizers so much that I decided to try and replicate it at home. 

Garlic Tofu

Gra Bong

The most disappointing dish of the night was the Sam Roas.  I loved the fact that this pad thai did not contain ketchup (finally a restaurant the doesn't use ketchup!), but the noodles were all clumpy and stuck together and a bit mushy.

Sam Roas

We had to order the Khao Soi because on every review I read, everyone raved about it.  The flavor in the curry soup base was great.  Not very curry-y but very intense in the coconut flavor.  Egg noodles were cooked perfectly, like an al-dente pasta.  On the top of the Khao Soi were deep friend egg noodles.  It provided a very nice contrast in texture.  It was kind of like dipping chips into a coconut curry broth.  YUM!  I'm not sure how a single person can finish this dish on their own.  It's super heavy.  By the end of the night I kind of wished I had brought a jar to take home the leftover broth so I could add more noodles to it for lunch the next day!

Khao Soi

The Gaeng Kaew Wan was a surprisingly good choice to order.  The flavors amazing, very clean tasting, not like the green curries that I have previously tried at other restaurants.  I could just drink the curry like soup.  The only thing that I didn't like about this curry was that it wasn't thick enough to pair with rice.  The rice swam in the curry sauce.

Gaeng Kaew Wan

Pad Gra Prao was super yummy! I didn't expect to like this dish for some reason.  It might have been because I didn't realize how much flavor would be in the ground meat.  We ordered this dish at a mild spice level, but it was pretty spicy!  Great basil and green chili flavor.  The dish came with a fried egg on top to be mixed in and also some spicy fish sauce.  Because of the fried egg, it seemed like I was eating a spicy breakfast for dinner!

Pad Gra Prao

Drink wise we ordred Cha Nom Yen.  When I saw on the menu that this drink was $4.50, I thought to myself, wow thats one expensive drink.  But when it arrived at the table, this drink was monstrous.  I think it could rival Pickel Barrel's milkshake!  I love strong coffees and strong teas, and this was one strong tea mixed with condensed milk.  Mmmm....very refreshing. 

Khao San Road definitely lived up to my expectations.  I don't think I've had Thai food as good as this in Toronto before.  I just wish it was closer to home.  But before making another trip here, I want to pay a visit to Sukothai to compare as there owners of Khao San Road came from Sukhothai.

Khao San Road
326 Adelaide West, Toronto, ON
647-352-5773
Mon-Sat (closed Sundays):
Lunch 11:30am - 2:30pm
Dinner 5:00pm - 10:00pm