Kin Kao Thai Kitchen is located on Commercial Drive. It’s been a very popular spot since it opened for authentic Thai cuisine. My friends and I were craving Thai Iced Tea, so we decided to meet up and have lunch here on the weekend. We went around 1pm and it wasn’t too busy. I had to take my Thai friend as she could tell me how ‘Authentic’ it is to food in Thailand.
Interior
There is bar seating and a few other tables around the restaurant, but it’ll be hard to accommodate large groups unless you go early. It’s easier going in groups of 2 – 4 people.
Thai Iced Tea
Thai Iced Tea is made with black Thai tea, sweetener and topped off with half and half cream. You mix it around to incorporate the tea and the cream. It was absolutely delicious but I personally would have wanted it a bit less sweet.
Complimentary Soup
Before our order arrived, we got a nice complimentary soup for each person at the table. It was a clean garlicky broth and we really enjoyed it. My Thai friend said it really reminded her of home.
Chicken Satay
The chicken tender strips are marinated with coriander, cumin seeds, kosher salt, lemongrass, turmeric, galangal and coconut milk. It was really delicious and tender. The cumin, lemongrass and turmeric stand out in the flavour profile. It comes with 3 pieces.
Chicken Wings
These deep fried chicken wings marinated with fish sauce, garlic and white pepper tossed in garlic, red jalapeño, vinegar, sugar, salt and corn starch. The saucy wings has a sweet finish to them, but the crunchiness was definitely lost because of it. The size of the wings and drumettes were on the smaller side.
Papaya Salad
It has shredded green papaya, tomatoes and long beans with their spicy dressing – thai chili, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, garlic, palm sugar and peanuts. Whey they mean spicy, they do mean spicy. Very fresh tasting papaya salad, but those thai chilis pack a punch.
Stir Fry with Thai Basil
Green Curry
It has coconut milk, chili, garlic, ginger, thai eggplants, lime leaves, bamboo shoots, palm sugar, fish sauce and thai basil. We got this with chicken. This was also medium spice, but it only had a tiny tiny amount of spice.
Candy
When we got the bill, it came with Amira candy for everyone. Amira is a tamarind candy.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the spice level of the dishes were strangely balanced. Everything was medium spice but the papaya salad was a ton spicier than our 2 main dishes. In terms of authenticity, it fell a bit short as it seems to be catered towards the clientele of the neighbourhood.
We Rate Kin Kao Thai Kitchen: 
Address:
903 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Website:
http://www.kinkao.ca/
