Khao Gaeng – 3583 Lake Shore Blvd W, Etobicoke, ON M8W 1P5
Country: Thailand
Must-try Dish: Massaman Curry
Dinner Guest: Young Matt

It was brought to Mandrea Bike’s attention that a pretty spectacular restaurant serving up Thai street food was only a ten-minute drive from their pandemic hideout. However, “pretty spectacular” is actually an understatement as Khao Gaeng is in reality superior to anything else Thai in the city. 

Toronto’s food guru, Suresh Doss, recommended a few dishes in his review of Khao Gaeng and we scanned the menu to include a couple more to our order. The expression “Khao Gaeng” represents the concept of putting a curry sauce over rice, and we certainly did in this meal. The menu offers a number of curries, stir-fries and noodle dishes, along with a couple of salads and appetizers that tended to be more on the fried style of cooking. 

Here’s what we ordered: 

• Vegetable Spring Rolls (free with orders over $55 before tax)
• Tom Yum Soup
• Beef Salad 
• Guay Tiew Gaeng with tofu
• Massaman Curry with chicken
• Pad Gra Prao Kai Dao with beef 

Although the Tom Yum Soup was tasty and well seasoned, we were more impressed by the Massaman Curry and the Guay Tiew Gaeng. Both are golden curries but have different flavour profiles. The Massaman Curry has a rich and silky texture from the coconut milk. The chicken, potatoes, onion, and peanuts give character and layers to the curry. This entire dish is mouth-watering and we all wanted more. 

Full disclosure: we were a little confused about the Guay Tiew Gaeng. Since it was takeout, the rice noodles and herbs were packaged in a separate container than the curry and tofu. Without realizing right away that we were supposed to mix them together, we were instead eating them separately. Midway through the meal. It dawned on us and the dish suddenly was incredible. 

The beef salad was a last-minute addition to the order and was a very pleasant surprise. Despite not being the top choice, we highly recommend ordering it, and will likely do so the next time we eat at Khao Gaeng. 

The Pad Gra Prao Kai Dao is one of the restaurant’s signatures dishes, and it comes in a stir-fry format with rice. This dish has a little bit of a kick to it as its seasoned with red and green chillis, onion and garlic. 

Unfortunately, we don’t get the full restaurant experience by ordering takeout because there isn’t the opportunity to interact with the staff and enjoy the atmosphere while we eat. Therefore, these reviews are based solely on the food, and it’s our intention to return when things go back to normal. 

We want to remind our fans to continue supporting local restaurants offering takeaway meals during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are trying times for the restaurant industry and it’s crucial to give them some love so that they can keep feeding us in the future.  

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)