TORONTO — Kiin, the Royal Thai-inspired fine-dining establishment from Toronto restaurateur couple chef Nuit Regular and Jeff Regular, has expanded its hours with the launch of Kiin Café. The café will be a neighbourhood hub for guests to grab a Thai coffee and espresso drinks, fresh house made mini doughnuts and traditional Thai brunch staples.
At Kiin Café, guests can expect a thoughtfully curated brunch menu that showcases the traditional Thai breakfast and lunch staples that chef Nuit and her team grew up eating every day in Thailand, using only the finest and freshest ingredients. Expect classic Thai brunch dishes like Khao Mun Gai (Hainanese Chicken Rice), Jhok (Thai Rice Congee), Guay Jub (Thai-style Rice Noodle Soup) and Khai Gratha (Thai-style Pan-Fried Eggs), as well as popular snacks like Patong Gho (Thai crullers) and Khanom Krok (Thai Coconut Puddings). The drinks menu features Thai drinks like Owliang (Thai coffee with condensed milk), Cha Chug (Thai pulled milk tea), Pandan-Butterfly Pea Latte, Nom Chompoo (Thai pink milk) and refreshing house made sodas like Pomelo Marmalade and Lychee. Additionally, the fried-to-order mini doughnuts will be tossed in either freeze-dried mango powder or classic cinnamon sugar.
“For most Thai people, breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” says Jeff Regular, co-owner of Kiin. “It’s a familiar sight to see the streets lined with push carts: the congee cart serving up steaming hot rice porridge, the Patong Gho cart with its freshly fried, golden Thai crullers, the Moo Ping cart with its sizzling pork skewers on a red-hot charcoal grill, or the many different noodle carts and shops. These are essentially cafés on wheels that serve hot, comforting meals to workers and students from early in the morning and well into lunch. We’re transporting the experience of those foods to our café, but on an elevated level.”
“This menu is very nostalgic to me and my team. When I eat these dishes, I’m instantly transported back to Thailand — grabbing breakfast on my way to school as a little girl or picking up lunch during one of my nursing shift breaks.” says chef Nuit, executive chef and co-owner of Kiin. “These are the foods that Thai people eat for breakfast and lunch every day. As an ambassador of Thai cuisine, I love being able to share authentic Thai experiences and introduce new Thai dishes that guests may not be familiar with. Kiin Café is an opportunity for me to show Toronto another aspect of the Thai culinary culture.”
In addition to its brunch service, Kiin Café also has plans in the coming weeks to launch a Thai-inspired afternoon tea menu and offer grab-and-go options.
