The constantly expanding diversity of Toronto’s dining scene is such that it’s actually quite difficult to be knocked out by novelty.
Sometimes it seems as if you’ve seen – and tasted – it all. Then along comes a place that throws you for a loop.
Muay Thai, a Thai boxing-themed restaurant/sports bar/informal cultural hub on Queen West is definitely a loop.
Named for Thailand’s national sport, which incorporates martial arts moves and full-contact combat, Muay Thai is the latest and radically different undertaking of husband-wife restaurateurs Inchai Tabun and Thanyap*rn Tinthanasan, who also own Thai House Cuisine and Thai Thay Bar.
The boxing theme kicks in as soon as you set foot within the long narrow space whose exposed brick walls are painted with vibrant murals featuring traditional Muay Thai figures and iconography. On one wall, you’re face to face with a fighter sporting a traditional headband (and authentic satin shorts!). On another, a fierce tiger – commonly tattooed on boxers’ bodies as a protective talisman – prowls between two temples.
Making your way to the back, the atmosphere turns increasingly immersive with suspended punching bags and actual ropes enclosing a dining area. Without a doubt, this is the closest you’ll ever get to enjoying a meal while seated in a boxing ring.
“Our idea with Muay Thai was to showcase Thai food and culture as well as Thai martial arts,” says Tinthanasan, noting that Toronto is home to a large Thai boxing community with over 40 active teams in the downtown area alone. Many of their members were present at Muay Thai’s soft opening in March. That they approved of both the space and the food delighted the owners who hope the restaurant will become a Thai boxing hub for members of the community as well as amateurs and aficionados from all walks of life.
In their quest to conquer hub status Tabun and Tinthanasan have gone to great lengths. In addition to the decor, from the bar, giant screens beam bright live televised images of Muay Thai fighters performing their impressive kicks, slashes, thrusts, spins and blocks. Throughout the day and into the night, patrons can tune into amateur and championship Muay Thai matches. When the stakes are high, they can also catch UFC international championship matches.
And yet despite all the attention paid to boxing, the main event at Muay Thai is the food.
Unlike many of Toronto’s Thai restaurants (including the owners’ two other establishments), Muay Thai eschews many of the tried-and-true classics that North American diners have come to depend upon. With this restaurant, Chef Tabun – who began cooking in his hometown of Chiang Mai, working his way up to five-star prominence before moving to Toronto in 2002 – has chosen to think outside of the box (or the ring). Although he draws from popular recipes, many from Thailand’s Northeast, as well as Bangkok street food favourites, he also incorporates modern tweaks and techniques. The upshot is dishes that look and feel a little surprising, but whose potent flavours tick all the traditional boxes.
In terms of the shareable starters, miang kham is a classic snack that originated in the 19th-century court of Siam. The name translates into “one bite wrap” because its standard iteration involves wrapping a betel leaf around a sweet, sour, hot and pungent mixture of dried shrimp, ginger, shallots, chilis, lime, crunchy peanuts and coconut.
Tabun’s version raises the crunch factor considerably by swapping out the dried shrimp for succulent fresh ones, which he dips in a light coating of dried coconut and fries to a delicate crisp. Layering on even more crunch, he also deep fries the traditional betel leaf that, along with shrimp chips, form crispy bowls that cradle the ingredients. A thick tamarind dipping sauce adds extra sweet-sour zing to the already flavour-popping proceedings.
Further crunch arrives in the form of a crispy catfish and green mango salad. You’ll be hard-pressed to recognize the catfish, which undergoes an arduous process that includes being steamed, minced, oiled and seasoned, then deep fried until the tender flakes of flesh puff up, according to Tinthanasan, “like tiny balloons.” Resembling a lighter, crunchier and more intriguing version of tempura, the fish is stacked upon a pale yellow heap of julienned mango, laced with ribbons of red pepper and fresh cilantro. Once again, the combination of flavours pack a punch, but it’s the play of textures that will leave you staggered.
Surely, there’s not a Thai restaurant in Toronto that doesn’t serve beloved pad thai, While giving into popular demand, Tabun puts a spin on the classic by dousing the combo of stir-fried rice noodles, peanuts, eggs, beansprouts and juicy grilled shrimp with a signature sweet and tart tamarind sauce. He also serves it alongside a Thai specialty you’ve likely never had before in Toronto, but that’s ubiquitous on the streets of Bangkok: a crispy fried mussel pancake.
As Tinthanasan notes, in Thailand, where countless restaurants specialize exclusively in pad thai, the street food staple is invariably accompanied by hoi tod, a crispy egg-based pancake, made with rice flour, and chock full of fried mussels and green scallions. For added earthiness, Tabun’s version throws in some mushrooms. Nestled side by side, the two dishes compliment each other perfectly: a delicious one-two punch.
One of the menu’s meatier mains, Crying Tiger picanha, features one of Tabun’s favourite, and up-and-coming, cuts of beef: picanha. Popular in Brazil, where it’s a staple of churrascarias, this rump cut is similar in texture to sirloin, but with more fat, rendering it extremely tender and flavourful when cooked. It appears in several guises at Muay Thai, but perhaps none more spectacular than in this dish whose allusion to a sobbing tiger references a joke that felines can’t easily chew fat and so must watch, heartbroken, as their human counterparts devour seductively marbled steaks.
Served with regal pomp on a banana-leaf-lined tray, the thick slices of succulent, pink beef, their edges seared to a crisp, are splayed out temptingly in a fan shape. Accompaniments are simple, straightforward, elegant: a wooden bowl sprouting a bouquet of bright, grilled vegetables and another filled with grilled enoki mushrooms. In truth, the picanha tastes so sublimely beefy that there’s no need for the accompanying sauces: spicy tamarind sprinkled with crunchy ground rice and a smoky puree of roasted eggplant.
While beef, chicken and shrimp make frequent appearances on the menu, lamb appears only once: in the splendid form of a rich panang curry. Featuring ingredients such as crushed peanuts, shrimp paste, lemongrass, ginger, galangal and coconut milk, the panang is more mild and creamy than fiery, making it an excellent companion to the jumbo shank of lamb, marinated for hours in spices and slow cooked for a few hours more. The fall-off-the-bone meat is wonderfully tender. It’s served on a bed of coconut rice that eagerly absorbs the fragrant curry.
Then there’s the Vancouver crab. A shareable showstopper of a dish, the gigantic Dungeness crab arrives lavishly displayed, its fiery orange-red head and legs splayed upon a generous mound of crab fried rice. Like all Muay Thai’s seafood, the crab is fresh, a fact betrayed by the sweetness of its juicy white flesh. Although you have a choice of two dipping sauces – black pepper or a mild creamy curry – once again, they’re truly unnecessary since the meat on its own is so slurp-every-last-shred-out-of-the-shell satisfying. However, don’t neglect the rice; wonderfully sticky, tinged with the crab’s sweetness and umami, it’s insanely gobble-able all on its own.
To pair with the food, there’s a narrow but thoughtful drinks menu. Several red, white and sparkling wines can be ordered by the bottle and glass. A handful of domestic and imported beers are available in cans and bottles. There also hoppy Thai Singha on tap.
Knockout Punch is one of several refreshing on-theme mocktails. Layers of guava juice, pineapple juice and grenadine blur into a tropical sunset topped with fizzy Sprite clouds and garnished with fresh mint and a bright paper parasol.
The Thai-inspired co*cktails pack more of a wallop. The Farang in Bangkok – Farang is Thai for guava as well as a slang term for (pink-skinned) foreigners – is an intoxicating melange of tequila and Aperol fruitified with guava and lime juices and finished with a spicy rim and slice of pineapple.
Beautiful Boxer pays homage to Muay Thai champion Parinya Charooenphol aka Nong Toom. Dubbed “the Beautiful Boxer” because she fought in traditional female clothing and make-up, she became a national icon for her boxing prowess as well as her groundbreaking career as a transgender athlete in a male-dominated sport. The drink that bears her name is an aptly bold and bracing concoction of white rum and Malibu mixed with mango juice and coconut cream.
As engaging as it is to watch a live boxing match, in Thailand, the post-match ritual of fans gathering at local bars to eat, drink and celebrate (or sob into their Singhas) is no less compelling. In Toronto, Tabun and Tinthanasan hope Muay Thai will become associated not just with the traditional sport itself, but also with its traditional aftermath. Even if you’re not a boxing aficionado, the unique and irresistible combo of food, drinks and ambiance pack a powerful punch.
