Cold season kicked off emphatically in my household this fall.
My daughter, who just started kindergarten this year, has not been well since school began. The melancholy, sidelong glances she issues at school drop-off time suggest to me that she is beginning to suspect that she has been enrolled in some nefarious germ cultivation and experimentation centre rather than in an institution of early learning.
Today, on almost every surface of my home, rests a commercial cold remedy, both pharmaceutical and herbal. Some of these remedies are sugarless, naturally flavoured, and now contain 20 per cent more echinacea. Some have improved flavour, come in a non-drowsy formula, or are chewable for use by children 12 and under. They are also, to be frank, largely ineffectual.
I think the market for cold medication products is predicated on the psychological insight that what bothers us most about being under the weather is that we are unable to do anything significant about it. A cold simply needs to run its course and no volume of saline spray is going to change that. This is a frustrating truth for a society that prizes instant gratification so highly.
For many people, a dip in the mercury also means a shift in diet, a gravitation towards denser, more rib-sticking fare that we euphemistically call comfort food. But for me, this time of year is just as much about spicy, bold flavours as it is about comfort.
In fact, as I felt the first ominous tickle of the season in the back of my throat last week, I did not turn to roasted beast and mashed potatoes, but rather sought out the signature hot, sour, sweet and salty balance of Thai food, as interpreted by Krua Thai, a small and straightforward restaurant in central Lonsdale that has served up solid, consistent Thai curries, noodles, soups and salads for nearly two decades.
I visited Krua Thai at lunchtime on a weekday and was immediately struck by three things: the restaurant was hopping busy, mouth-watering scents of garlic, shrimp paste and lime leaf permeated the air, and all lunch items were priced at just $7.60.
While it is never the case that a poor tasting meal can be forgiven based on its low price, it is certainly true that a very good meal seems to be elevated even further if it is also remarkably inexpensive. As I tucked into a dish of Krua Thai’s sensibly portioned and expertly crafted red coconut curry with prawns, I had to concede that their lunch deal represented one of the better value meals I’ve had recently.
The curry, brick red in colour and boasting the consistency of heavy cream, was velvety smooth on the palate and presented requisite (and greatly appreciated) flavours of sour lime, perfumed lime leaf and lemon grass, fiery red bird chilies, deep and heady garlic, and the inimitable prickly, pine sap-like taste of galangal.
The rich curry, which contained five medium-sized prawns, was accompanied by a generous mountain of jasmine rice, a small salad topped with shallot-heavy dressing, and a crispy spring roll, an add-on I selected for an additional dollar.
To be honest, I’d skip the spring roll next time because while it was adequately tasty, all lunch plates come with two crispy fried wontons, which, as I learned through my next dish, are much tastier than the spring roll.
For a second course, I tried Krua Thai’s Swimming Rama, an ingenious dish of lean, boneless chicken atop a bed of steamed spinach, covered with a spicy coconut milk and peanut sauce.
The peanut sauce was luxuriously thick and rich, showcasing similar flavours to those contained in the curry, but with a heavier emphasis on lemongrass and onion.
Like the curry, this dish came with a side of rice, salad, and two light and crispy, shrimp and chicken stuffed wontons.
For those of you who, like me, appreciate a considerable dose of chili burn in Thai food, I recommend asking your server to kick up the spiciness a bit when you order, as it seems to be Krua Thai’s default approach to be conservative on the heat scale.
While not listed on the lunch menu, traditional Thai soups are available at lunchtime, including Tom-Kha Gai, a delicious hot and sour creation featuring chicken, mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass and lime leaf.
I took an order of this home and, upon polishing off the final drop of the tart and spicy broth, looked with disdain at the package of mentholated sweets on my kitchen counter; in five minutes the soup did more to soothe my irritated throat than any lozenge had for two days prior.
My lunch of two entrees, soup and a pot of jasmine tea was $25 before gratuity.
Krua Thai is located at 1445 Lonsdale Ave. kruathai.ca
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
