Location: 326 Adelaide Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.kiintoronto.com/
I initially tried Kiin in 2018 and I found it tasty, but a bit overpriced. Since then, they’ve been featured in the Michelin Guide, and they’ve started serving brunch. I figured another visit was probably in order.
After visit two, I’m still more on the “like” than the “love” side of the fence, but it was a tasty meal and a pretty solid value.
I ordered the jhok: “Thai rice porridge, housemade chicken meatballs, sous vide egg, crispy vermicelli noodles, ginger, green onion, coriander, Thai cruller.”
This was a hearty bowl, with a generous amount of tender meatballs and tasty sausage (which wasn’t mentioned on the menu), a nice textural counterpoint from the crispy noodles, and pops of freshness and heat from the coriander and the sliced peppers.
And the porridge itself was creamy and comforting, with a satisfying savoury flavour. The silky sous vide egg complements the porridge quite well, adding extra richness and oomph.
It might have been too rich, however; it was crying out for a vinegary hot sauce or something with some brightness to cut the heaviness a bit.
I also tried the bua loy for dessert: “sticky rice flour balls, sweetened coconut milk, pandan, sesame, young coconut.” This was thoroughly tasty, with a bunch of pleasantly springy mochi-esque balls swimming in a sweet, flavourful coconut milk concoction. I was expecting this to be cold and was a bit shocked when my first mouthful was quite hot, but once I got used to the temperature, it was a great dessert.
Bonus: unlike my last visit, the prices seemed quite reasonable. The jhok was $18, and considering how crammed with tasty stuff it was, it’s impossible to argue that it’s overpriced (the dessert was $15, which is a bit less of a steal, but it was delicious enough that I won’t get too worked up about it).
Michael Eats 