Sel Z.
Yelp
We came here because this restaurant is listed on the Michelin Guide (https://guide.michelin.com/ca/en/ontario/toronto/restaurant/koh-lipe-thai-kitchen), and we were not disappointed! The menu is unique and has many dishes that are not offered in most other Thai restaurants (which serve mostly Northern Thai dishes). Koh Lipe specializes in Southern Thai cuisine, and the downtown location even has a keto menu.
There are 2 locations (as of January 2024): downtown (on Baldwin Street) and Scarborough. The downtown location is smaller but the interior is cozy with Thai-inspired interior decorations (such as a tuk-tuk at the front of the restaurant) and artwork / mural on the wall (depicting a colourful Thai jungle). They're packed at all times of day so making a reservation is a must. There is street parking along the street, and a paid Green P parking garage nearby in Chinatown.
The food is Michelin-worthy, indeed. Everything we ordered came out fast and all the dishes tasted delicious, light, and healthy.
From the Keto Menu:
Keto Curry Fried Rice (stir-fried konjac rice mixed with cauliflower rice and curry powder, shrimps, eggs, Chinese broccoli, carrot, and onion) - You won't be able to tell the difference between konjac & cauliflower rice and regular rice. This was my favourite dish - flavourful without having the curry overpowering, big pieces of plump shrimps, good amount of vegetables (Chinese broccoli and carrot slices), eggs, and green onion.
From the Special Menu:
Pad Sam Mhen (Stinky Beans Noodles) (vermicelli rice noodles stir-fried with stink beans, clams, shrimps, shrimp paste, onion, garlic, and holy basil) - I love stink beans so I jumped at the chance of ordering this dish when I saw that it contained stink beans. The vermicelli noodles had a nice charred yet soft texture, and super delicious in taste. The clam pieces were small but plentiful. Unfortunately there weren't too many stink beans in the dish... perhaps I'll order the stink beans separately as an add-on on the side next time.
From the Regular Menu:
Chef's Special: Luok Jhim (steamed shrimps, squid, mussels, fish, and rice noodles, served with lettuce and chilli lime sauce) - The different varieties of seafood were simply steamed, so the actual flavours and freshness of the seafood really stood out. It came with lettuce for wrapping, as well as rice noodles.
Southern Thai: Ka Nom Jeen Nam Ya (rice noodles in minced fish curry, served with boiled egg, green beans, bean sprouts, and cabbage) - We wanted to order something that was a Southern Thai specialty, so we settled on this noodle dish. The fish curry (quite runny, like a thick curry broth) was too spicy for me (even though we asked for it to be mild / made less spicy). But the raw vegetables that it came with were excellent - fresh and crunchy.