My title is a bit of a misnomer because Salad King is neither about lettuce nor salad. In fact, it's nothing even remotely close to that food group.
Salad King is one of those highly raved about places that you would know about if you lived in Toronto. At first glance, you would think that it's some organic vegan place that serves overpriced quinoa and bird food, but that's not the case at all. This is a thai resturant - so we're talking carbs on sauce on more carbs. I'm not sure why they call it Salad King - it confused me at first, but once you arrive, you'll be thankful that massaged kale salad isn't the main thing on the menu, or on the menu at all.
Despite being on my radar for the last few years and pitching it to everyone I have dinner with, I've never had a chance to make a visit due to it's location and my deepening fear of pad thai - which renders me absolutely powerless after the first bite. I MUST finish the whole plate
Lucky for me, my friend happens to live by one and suggested we go check it out. If someone else wants to go, there's no way I can refuse right?!
'Salad King.Yes, please!'
The restaurant is located on the second floor of a building, which is easy to miss if you're just looking for restaurants on the bottom floor. A quick flight of stairs up and you will find yourself surrounded by people indulging in their recent dinner selection.
Asking our waitress for recommendations, she quickly drew all over our menu (which is printed on place mats - thumbs up for eco-friendliness) and pointed at her favorites. Of course, listening to the waitress is the best bet, so we decided on the Thai Basil Noodles and their off the menu Islamic Noodles (which is another name which completely escapes me). Seems like naming dishes and places after completely irrelevant things is a trend here.
Our waitress asked us how spicy we wanted the dishes, and my friend and I exchanged glances 'Uhh... normal spicy? Maybe a bit more?'
After a confusing exchange and a difficult decision over the spice level, we placed our orders and before we knew it, noodles magically appeared in front of us.
The portions here are very generous and we a full meal of leftovers afterwards. His favorite - the thai basil noodles at level 6 spicy, while I preferred the Islamic noodles at level 3 spicy. Guess I couldn't handle the spice.
Stuffing ourselves to the brim and eating till we could no longer, we stayed for a bit after the dishes were cleared, chatting about life and everything else in between. This friend is someone whom I haven't had a chance to meet as often to as I would like, but his company is something I always look forward to. Maybe next time we'll hit up some other delicious places that are on my list but that I dare not enter.
Although the salad part of the 'salad king' name is a lie, the king part is quite aptly used - depending on how we look at it. The noodles are some of the best I've had in Toronto, and portions are definitely 'king' sized so make sure you come on an empty stomach though - you'll see what others are eating around you and want to try everything.
naomi
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For more reviews and information about Salad King please visit this following link