Xaphire.

asian fusion... I knew my friend Jess had been working at a restaurant called Xaphire for awhile, so a group of us decided to go try the restaurant out and bother her at work lol. Initially, we came here to visit her, but the food turned out to be surprisingly good and affordable! Xaphire's menu consists of Thai, Viet, Chinese and even Korean food served in a nice classier context (similar to the popular "Spring Rolls" restaurant). The place itself is pretty aesthetically pleasing and reminds me of a cozier/smaller lounge that serves lots of asian food.
There were 5 of us in total, and we all ordered different dishes. To start, we shared the shrimp salad rolls ($6 + tax). There were about 2 full rolls here- cut up into 8 smaller pieces. These were basically rice paper rolls (the softer white coloured spring rolls) filled with shrimp, mango, carrots and according to their menu, a bit of mint as well. We were pretty pleased with these as each piece had that crisp/crunchy texture indicating freshness. I knew Xaphire's curry is pretty good as I had previously tried some when Jess took it out, so I decided to go for the Traditional Pad Thai ($10 + tax) instead. It came with chicken, shrimp, egg, tofu, sprouts and crushed peanuts on the side. The portion size for the Pad Thai was ok as you can see in the picture (not as big as at Green Lemon Grass, but very reasonablly priced).
We also ordered a Beef Green Curry ($10 + tax) and a Chicken Green Curry ($10 + tax), which is their spicier curry. Although they advertise this as being their spicier curry, do not be scared, as the spice is very mild. They both came in LARGE bowls (they give you a lot of curry!) and the beef one definitely was infused with lots of beefy, meaty flavour, along with the very evident coconut flavour. As I mentioned before, this curry is just flat out tasty! One thing to keep in mind is that this dish does not come with rice and you have to order it separately (~$2-$3 a bowl, I don't really remember). Finally, we also ordered Kalbi Beef Ribs ($10 + tax, rice also separate). This dish came with about 3 large racks of korean Kalbi Beef Ribs and a small salad on the side. When this came, the mix of quality grilling and the sweet Korean marinade made it look, taste and smell delicious!
All the dishes we ordered were $10 or less (actually all the entrees we ordered were $10) and we all left quite full/ satisfied. Looking at the modern ambiance and decor of this place, you would definitely expect the prices to be higher, but they keep the food affordable without sacrificing taste. If you come here and see my friend Jess (short asian girl in the blurry last picture), say whats up and let her know that Good Food Toronto sent you. You can even try talking her into trades (ex. one of my friends traded a free Starbuck's coupon for a lychee martini ~$9 value I think lol).

• for Parking, look for a spot on one of the side streets off of Eglinton
• open Sunday- Friday (5-10 pm), Saturday (5-11 pm) and closed on Mondays
  

Xaphire Restaurant
530 Eglinton Ave. West
416-482-3380
http://xaphire.ca