Jason M.
Yelp
After some incredible rumor milling to stir up the crowd and a killer popup that brought together nearly a dozen favorite restaurants and food initiatives from across Toronto, Monte Wan has finally delivered his new masterpiece - an ambitious restaurant aiming to shake up the Thai scene in Toronto. Wan's the owner and face of the much-lauded Khao San Road, and while he's no stranger to success, he's well aware of the stagnation plaguing high-end Thai in this city. Satanee Nana is Wan's ambitious attempt to inject innovation into the Toronto Thai scene.
And boy does it work! Just four days after opening the cocktail program is waiting in the wings alongside an ice cream partnership with a Kensington standout. But the food is here, and the menu's absolutely killer. If you're a fan of any of the big Thai places in Toronto you simply NEED to eat here.
Southern Fried Chicken Laab - $12 - Wan introduced this starter as likely becoming a signature dish for Nana, and my dining companion and I couldn't agree more. Tender nuggets of chicken are fried to snacky perfection, then tossed in a dressing of roasted rice flour, green onion, chili, cilantro, red onion, and lime juice (amongst others). The result is the biggest standout of the evening: every bite delivers the incredible tang, heat, salt, sweetness, and savory flavors that give Thai cuisine its appeal. The dish unfolds in your mouth like a storybook: sweet and tart lime hits the tip of your tongue first, as the flavor of the chicken sets up shop on the center of your tongue. Heat and saltiness build, and then the entire mouth is overwhelmed with tangy lime and chili, tempered by hints of cilantro and red onion. It's insane; one of the best things I've eaten this year.
Vietnamese Style Spring Rolls - $9 - Crystalline fried rice wrappers are filled with flavorful pork, bolstered by the richness of crab. While the Fried Chicken Laab was a bombastic dish exploding with flavors, the Spring Rolls are bold, but more subtle; the flavor of the crab enriches the pork, but then comes into its own on the back end of the tasting with a pleasant oceanic aroma that fills the nose and back of the throat.
Fresh Rolls With Pork - $8 - Perfectly tender rice rolls filled with what appears to be minced pork, mushroom, glass noodles, and leafy greens outshine their chicken sausage equivalent at KSR (a dish that's no slouch on its own; in fact, one of my favorites). This was the least impressive of the three starters we had, but still excellent. Be careful - they're open-ended, so dip them sideways and try to tackle each piece as a single bite.
Mi Ga Ti With Pork - $15 - We were split on which entree we felt to be the strongest, but this one was my favorite: a rich, peanut-buttery curry broth filled with minced pork, silken cubed tofu, and noodles for softness, matched with leek and bean sprouts for crunch. The flavors of the pork and the curry are brilliantly mixed; the textures and contrast are outstanding; and the entire dish is a smooth amalgamation studded with variety between bites. I loved this just as much as I love the Khao Soi at KSR.
Pad Mama With Hotdogs - $15 - Soft wispy noodles concealed florets of grilled hotdog in one of Toronto's few dishes that plays for whimsy and actually achieves deliciousness in the process. Chinese broccoli and napa cabbage add contrast and crunch to the mix of textures, and their mild flavors play well in what's a surprisingly subtle dish. As tasty as it is alarming, this was my dining companion's favored entree.
Milk Roti - $6 - An exceptional dessert, we remarked that we could eat another order immediately. How little did we know... Fried and lightly browned roti arrives steaming hot, covered in a drippy glaze of sweetened condensed milk. It's sticky-sweet without being cloying or overpowering, the roti chewy, and crisp, and seductively buttery all at the same time. This was delicious. I won't eat here without ordering at least one of the rotis.
Ovaltine Roti - Off Menu - Described by Wan as part of an effort to create unique dishes for the Toronto Mealshare charity, we had no idea this existed until Wan came and asked us what we had for dessert. When he mentioned there was an off-menu roti we unbuckled our belts one more notch and braced for impact. The Ovaltine Roti is fried crispy and buttery like the Milk Roti, but melts with flavors of caramel and browned butter. It's awesome! Ask your server for availability.
Satanee Nana's clearly playing to a more narrow and experienced demographic than the other big Thai places. This is meant for people who've loved Khao San Road, along with its predecessors and spinoffs, but now crave something new. It's either going to be a hit with diners or a complete and total implosion. Is Toronto ready for this? I certainly hope so, but in the meantime I'll be eating here every chance I can get just in case the ambitious effort is short-lived.
Go there. So good.