One of Toronto's best Thai restaurants has launched a brand new brunch menu, paying homage to Chef Nuit Regular's roots in Thailand.
Meaning “eat” in Thai, Kiin made a splash in Toronto’s food scene back in 2017 as a bold, new concept from restaurateur couple Chef Nuit and Jeff Regular of PAI, and quickly earned recognition on Canada’s 100 Best lists in 2019 and 2020.
Kiin showcases the diversity of culinary traditions found across Thailand with a focus on Royal Thai dishes, a disappearing cuisine that was once enjoyed by Thai royalty. But the new brunch menu at Kiin is unlike any other in the city and departs from this usual focus on Royal Thai food. The brunch menu instead features a selection of authentic Thai breakfast and lunch dishes that were familiar to Chef Nuit when she was a little girl in Thailand.
“This brunch menu is very nostalgic to me and my team," says Chef Nuit.
"When I eat these dishes, I’m instantly transported back to Thailand—grabbing breakfast on my way to school as a little girl or picking up lunch during one of my nursing shift breaks. These are the foods that Thai people eat for breakfast and lunch every day. As an ambassador of Thai cuisine, I love being able to share authentic Thai experiences and introduce new Thai dishes that guests may not be familiar with. Kiin Café is an opportunity for me to show Toronto another aspect of Thai culinary culture.”
The well-assembled Khai Kratha features two Thai-style pan-fried eggs with Chinese sausage, Vietnamese sausage, minced chicken, green onions, coriander, red chili, and fried garlic, served with Thai crullers. This dish is best enjoyed by mixing all of its components together!
The tangy and spicy Jhok is a Thai rice porridge, with house made chicken meatballs, sous vide egg, crispy vermicelli noodles, ginger, green onion, coriander, and Chinese celery. Also best enjoyed after a good mix.
For those seeking a rice dish, the Khao Mun Gai features flavourful chicken thighs served atop Thai-style Hainanese ginger-garlic rice. This item comes with a small winter melon soup that has an actual chunk of the tender melon inside, and is served with a fermented soy bean, ginger, and garlic sauce.
Perhaps the most unique item on the new brunch menu is the Guay Tiew Rua Sen Lek (Boat Noodles). This noodle-based, soup style dish is made with beef blood broth, tender braised beef shank, dense beef balls, rice noodles, kale, bean sprouts, celery, sawtooth coriander and fried garlic. Chef Nuit explains that these are called boat noodles in reference to food vendors in Thailand who sell lunch from boats in the country's canals and rivers.
Don't miss the fresh, fried-to-order mini doughnuts, plain or tossed in your choice of freeze-dried mango powder, cinnamon-sugar, or icing sugar.
Many brunch cocktails share the spotlight on the menu, including the Rama Caesar infused with tom yum paste; the Mango Bellini with a simple mix of Prosecco, mango pulp, and juice; and the Owliang Martini infused with Thai coffee. The non-alcoholic beverages are a treat, like the Cha Chug (Thai pulled milk tea) and the gorgeous Lychee Soda, perfect for summer.
Kiin is located at 326 Adelaide St. W. Try the new brunch menu from Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
