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thai... For the past 5 weeks, I've been doing a placement for Physiotherapy at St. Mike's Hospital and in the last week, Jaimie, the Physiotherapist I'm working under, generously treated me and some students to lunch! We decided to check out a place called Golden Thai on Church street, which is conveniently located walking distance from St. Mike's Hospital (and Eaton Centre). It is a pretty busy place for lunch. The inside looks pretty nice with traditional looking decorations throughout the restaurant. The seating arrangement is quite spacious and the atmosphere seems more relaxed compared to other busy lunch places around the area.
Upon being seated, we received lunch menus, which is what we all ordered from. There was a list of about 10 items (ranging from $7.95 + tax/tip- $9.95 + tax/tip) including things like Pad Thai, Salmon Curry, Pattaya Chicken/Shrimp/Beef. There were also Combo Options where you get to choose different items to go along with fried rice, noodles (yes, both noodles and rice!) and a salad (1 item- $5.95+ tax tip, 1 item + Vegetable Spring Roll- $6.95 + tax/tip, 2 items + Vegetable Spring Roll- $7.95 + tax/tip, 3 items + vegetable spring roll-$9.95 + tax/tip). There was a list of items you could choose from which included: Ginger Chicken, Lime Leaf Beef, Sweet and Sour Pork, Butterfly Shrimp, Spicy Calamari, Grilled Eggplant, Peanut Tofu.
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I ordered the Pad Thai Plate ($7.95 + tax/tip, pictured top right), which came with shrimp, chicken, pad thai noodle, some veggies and a vegetable spring roll + a spicy/sweet dipping sauce. It also came with typical crushed peanuts that come with Pad Thai. I found that the Pad Thai noodles were a little too dry and was lacking some flavour, as I ended up dumping all the spring roll dipping sauce into the noodles. The portion was not too big either. There were about 2-3 pieces of shrimp wrapped around a deep fried dough, making it crispy as you bit into the shrimp.
Everybody else ordered the Combo Option (mentioned above) with 2 Items + fried, noodles fried rice, some veggies and a Vegetable Spring Roll ($7.95 + tax/tip, pictured middle left and bottom). The first impression of these combos were that the portions were huge. They piled on plenty of everything. Everyone different things including ginger beef, eggplants, peanut tofu, etc (as mentioned above). Most people at our table who ordered these combos had some trouble finishing it all or ended up only eating some!
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Golden Thai is a decent place to have a nice quick lunch if you are in the downtown area as it is walking distance from Eaton Centre. The food isn't the greatest for a Thai place, but the prices are quite cheap as all the lunch menu items are below $10 (before tax/tip) and the place itself is nice and spacious (good place to go with a larger group of people and make reservations).
- Parking: park on the street (on Richmond), it is downtown though, so don't expect free parking around here
Golden Thai
105 Church Street
Toronto, Ontario
416-868-6668
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.
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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).
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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!
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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
viet-thai... I recently went out to lunch with my family and my parents recommended that we go to Green Thai- Viet Thai Fusion. My 2 brothers were also there, so between the 5 of us, we had to order quite a bit of food to fill us up. The restaurant itself is really nice inside with lots of modern style decor (it almost seemed new, but I'm not sure how long this place has been open for exactly).
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We ordered a whole bunch of different stuff ranging from noodles, rice, different meats and curry. Pictured top left is their signature "Green Thai Rack of Lamb" ($18.95 + tax/tip). This was one of their more expensive items but each piece was tender and juicy with plenty of flavour from the grill. There were about 7 or 8 pieces of lamb in the dish. Another dish we ordered was the "Malaysia Kwai Dew Pan Fried" ($7.99 + tax/tip). The portion size for this was decent and its better to share these types of dish, so you don't fill up on all the carbs haha. Taste wise, this dish was good, but didn't really stand out too much for me. As a group, we shared a "Thai Red Beef Brisket Curry" ($6.99). This was a little spicy, but it tasted awesome. You also have to get a side of rice or roti to complete this dish. They had different sides ranging from $1.50- $2.50 including rice (ex. jasmine rice, coconut rice and chicken flavoured rice) and also noodles or roti that goes great with the curry.
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One pretty unique dish that they we ordered was the "Deep Fried Chicken in Pandang Leaves" ($9.99 + tax/tip). This dish was made up of some marinated boneless chicken pieces wrapped in some kind of leaves and then deep fried. Before eating it, you have to unwrap the leaves and the leaves seemed to keep the chicken more tender and moist by trapping the flavours inside. We also ordered some kind of seafood fried rice (don't remember the price, i think around $7-$10), which even had crab in it, although I felt that the strong flavours of all the other foods made this dish a little more bland than it actually should be. An awesome promotion that Green Thai is also running is that they will give each table an entire Curry Crab for FREE, if you order over $40. This is a serious deal, considering it is an entire crab and the curry sauce on this was filled with flavours from the crab as well. We ended up getting an order of roti to eat with this.
We were already stuffed by the end of the meal, and then one more surprise came when owner recognized my parents from the last time they came and gave us a free dessert, which was Deep Fried Banana with Honey. This tasted way better than the ones you get at all you can eat sushi places and the banana was even covered in shredded coconut before it was deep fried which made it taste awesome!
Green Thai- Viet Thai Fusion is a nice restaurant if you like Viet, Thai, or Malaysian food. Both the portions and prices are pretty decent (it came out to around $10-$12/ person after taxes and tips). If you go more than once, definitely ask for a VIP discount card, which gets you 10% off each time you eat here. It is located in the plaza on the west side of Bayview and High Tech Road.
Green Thai- Viet Thai Fusion
8750 Bayview
Richmond Hill, ON
L4B 4V9
south east asian cuisine... One of my favourite places to eat at recently has been Green Lemon Grass, which serves a wide variety of South East Asian Cuisine including Thai, Viet and Malaysian food. I had tried a bit of their curry and roti before when my aunt bought some takeout for us and from that sampling of their food I had to go back for more.
Over the couple of times that I have gone their, I have picked out my favourite dishes from this place. I have gotten the Pad Thai ($8.50 + tax/tip) from here, which is amazing. The portion of their Pad Thai is massive and is more than enough to split between 2 people (the picture does not justify how big the portion size is). It is also loaded with chicken, shrimp, eggs and served with plenty of crushed peanuts on top. Not only is it big, but it tastes really good (I'd take this over the previously reviewed one from Joy Thai any day!). Another dish that I tried and would definitely order again is the Thai Style House Special Beef Noodle Soup (Regular- $6.25 + tax/tip, Large $7.25 + tax/tip). This is like the usual vietnamese beef noodle soup (aka pho), but instead of the typical pho soup, they use a Tom Yum style sweet and sourish broth that tastes awesome!
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Finally, my favourite item from this place is definitely their Curry Roti dishes ($6-$11 + tax, depending on what type of curry you choose). I've tried the Curry Beef Brisket Roti ($9.95 + tax/tip) and Curry Goat Brisket Roti ($10.95 + tax/tip). The best part about these dishes is definitely their Roti, which comes out hot, a little crispy on the outside and a mix of stretchy and fluffy when you pull it apart. I'm not sure if this is how traditional Roti is supposed to be like, but their version of it is sick! I like the flavour of lamb (or goat), but I thought there were too many bones (yeah... I'm lazy with bones) compared to the beef brisket one, although both tasted great.
Green Lemon Grass is an awesome place to go for some delicious south east asian food. The prices here are pretty cheap considering the giant portions you get (especially for the Pad Thai). It is located inside of a mini chinese mall by 16th Ave. and Leslie St..
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Green Lemon Grass
Unit 8
9425 Leslie St
Richmond Hill
905-508-5328
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thai... Awhile ago, I went to grab lunch with a bunch of friends and Tyler suggested that we try a Thai restaurant called Joy Thai around Yonge and Lawrence where he worked. My first impression of the place was that it seemed very authentic with traditional type decorations everywhere, as opposed to the dozens of modern fusion Thai restaurants scattered around Toronto.
They're menu offers a pretty wide selection of Thai Food, but we all went straight for the Lunch Special deals, which comes with an Entree and a Soup (or spring roll) for $6.95 + tax/tip. Among all of us, we picked a variety of Entrees. I went with the Chicken Pad Thai, which was served with a side of salad as well. The pad thai that I requested to be a little spicy was pretty good (not the best though). Other dishes that we got were the Red Curry Chicken and the Yellow Curry Chicken. I tried some of both and I would definitely recommend the Red Curry Chicken, which tastes so good that you could end up eating bowls and bowls of rice with it. One of us also got the Spicy Chicken, which is also served with rice and salad.
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Each of these lunch specials also came with Soup on the side, and we all picked the Lemon Grass Chicken Soup (Tom Yum Kai), which was awesome! I don't usually like these types of hot, sour tasting soups, but they make it really good here and you can really taste the lemon grass and lime flavours. Joy Thai is a good place for some cheap authentic Thai food, but one huge negative for this place was that the service was really slow! We waited a good 20 minutes for our food and there was no staff to be seen during much of our meal (I'm guessing they are short staffed and one or two people cook and serve the whole restaurant.
Joy Thai Restaurant
(416) 487-5144
3192 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4N 2L1
ginger... Another day at the beach means another meal by the beach. We were at Woodbine Beach and walked over to Ginger on Queen to grab lunch. Ginger is a Vietnamese/ Thai restaurant and their Queen location is quite spacious, with a nice patio perfect for the summer weather.
More importantly, the food is pretty good too! My friend, Monica, and I each got the Chicken Vermicelli meal ( $6.95 + Tax/ Tip), which comes with a decently sized grilled chicken and a Viet spring roll (this was good!) on top of vermicelli. It also comes with fish sauce and crushed peanuts on top, which makes the meal much tastier when you mix it up. Ula got the Charcoal Porkchop on rice ($6.25 + Tax/ Tip), which she loves and gets every time she goes to Ginger (yep, she's a regular at the restaurant.lol). This came with a giant grilled porkchop on top of white rice and some Chinese veggies on the side.
The dishes at Ginger are pretty good and decently priced as you can grab dinner or lunch here for under $10 including taxes and tips. They have 8 locations in total around Toronto.
GINGER HEADQUARTER
1985 Queen St. East
Toronto, On. M4L-1J1
Woodbine Beach
thai/viet... I was working quite close to the Rex Saigon Thai Viet Buffet restaurant in Scarborough and decided to go there for lunch. As a buffet type place, it was suitable for the large group that we had. The decor was alright, but more like a cafeteria like setting. The food though, comes in a wide variety, ranging from Pad Thai to Vietnamese Pho Noodles. It is a self serve style buffet where you go up and get your own food. They also serve curry dishes such as curry lamb, beef and chicken. As you can see from the pictures, they also have a small sushi section (mostly california rolls though). Other foods that I remember off the top of my head are mango salads, deep fried bananas and even Chinese style food like different types of fried rice/noodles and wonton soup. If you like Vietnamese spring rolls, they offer different types (ex. the normal deep fried ones and the clear skin ones with shrimp inside). One unique item that is offered at this place is unlimited Pho (vietnamese beef noodle soup)... how much of this can you possibly eat though?! haha. I would say the food quality is average, but value for quantity factor is gooooood.
Quick Notes: I came here for lunch and the price per person came out to be about $12 (tax and tip included), which is great value for the quantity and selection of food that you can get. For dinner, they have an early bird dinner special (monday- friday, 5-6:30 pm) for $12.95 (before tax/tip) and I think the dinner price goes up to ~$17.99. If you like Thai or Viet style food, but quantity and value are a factor, then this is definitiely a sweet place to check out as you can get unlimited food for about the same price as a plate of Pad Thai at other restaurants. Rex Saigon is located just North East of Sheppard/Brimley (4466 Sheppard Avenue East, Unit 101).
