The hidden life of Thai desserts in Toronto's west end
Patchmon’s Thai Desserts is at 2463 Bloor St. W.
I spent two months in Southeast Asia last year and a large portion of that trip was consumed with exploring Thailand and combing through its vast food markets — during the day, at night and even seeking them out by boat.
Some of the best food I found came from small stalls, clustered tightly together, and was made by people cooking homestyle meals.
But I always looked forward to the dessert vendor at every market I visited.
In this part of the world, and especially Thailand, desserts are serious stuff.
A kaleidoscope of colours adorned each vendor's booth, each taking on a different form. For me, Thai desserts distill my experience there because of their rainbow aesthetic and unpredictable texture and tastes.
If you're curious enough to try it, each bite will be met with an explosion of tropical fruits and vegetables.
When I returned to Toronto, I was able to fulfill most of my Thai food cravings because regional Thai cooking has erupted in the city. It's no longer all about pad thai.
But finding Thai desserts proved more challenging.
At Thai restaurants throughout the Greater Toronto Area, you'll spot an array of gateway sweet plates, like mango sticky rice or some form of a coconut-based ice cream. But it doesn't go deeper than that.
Chef Patchmon Su-Anchalee wants to break this mold by serving up a vast compendium of regional Thai desserts.
"Thai desserts are about subtlety and texture," she said. "There's so much more than just sticky rice."
Su-Anchalee grew up in Bangkok where she spent much of her adult years working in the food industry. She was never a chef, nor did she have any intentions of becoming one.
"I never had a big interest in cooking until I came to Canada," she explained. Su-Anchalee moved to Canada 15 years ago with her husband and daughter, Aleen Tangsubutra.
"We came here to give her a better life. To make sure she has the best future."
Su-Anchalee says she missed various aspects of Thailand's food culture, particularly when it came to desserts. She took it upon herself to learn how to make traditional Thai desserts.
"My husband encouraged me to learn about Thai desserts," she recalled. "It was such a big part of our lives back home, and there's nowhere to get it."
Su-Anchalee opened her small, Bloor West Village shop in 2013. Although Patchmon's Thai Desserts remains under the radar, Su-Anchalee has a loyal following.
Patchmon's Thai Desserts serves a small lunch menu, of soups, rice dishes and curry puffs, and offers a lineup of Thai sweets.
On any given day, her display cases will be lined with colourful, jewelled desserts that are reminiscent of the sweets you would see many markets in Thailand.
Su-Anchalee transforms traditional Thai ingredients — like coconut, mung beans, pandan leaves, palm sugar, tapioca — and creates bite-sized sweets.
This includes Kha-Nhom Thuay, a steamed pandanus cake. She layers pandanus pudding with palm sugar and then coats it in coconut cream. It feels like you're spooning crème caramel, but the flavours are lighter and creamier.
The Kha-Nhom Pai, or moon cakes stuffed with mung beans and taro, originate in China but their Thai counterpart tastes like small flour doughnuts.
Yet Su-Anchalee's specialty lies in auspicious Thai desserts.
These make up nine different sweets. Their recipes date back centuries to royal courts in Thailand and historically convey well wishes to those that receive and eat them.
They are treated as culinary treasures in Thai culture and are passed down carefully from one family to another.
All nine desserts are offered together on one tray during special celebrations, or as an offering during Buddhist rituals.
"These desserts are very hard to make and master. I have spent years trying to perfect it" Su-Anchalee said.
Each offers a specific blessing. There's one for prosperity, wealth and long-lasting relationships.
No two desserts look or taste alike. I have a few favourites.
Try the Tong Yip, which look like flower petals. It's made from an egg yolk and flour mixture that is soaked in a sugar syrup before being pinched by hand to form a petal. They look like an egg custard, but have a cake-like texture to them. This sweet is Su-Anchalee's most popular auspicious Thai dessert. It symbolizes prosperity and typically sells out by mid-afternoon.
There's also the Khanom Chan, referred to as coconut layer cake. It is a jewel-like layering of three jellies — coconut cream, pandan juice and tapioca flour. It looks like jello, but has a denser texture that's highlighted by notes of coconut and pandan. This dessert symbolizes good luck.
Su-Anchalee makes a set of auspicious Thai desserts throughout the week. But since they're handmade in small batches, if you see more than one, get a box to go.
Patchmon's Thai Desserts is at 2463 Bloor St. W. in Toronto
Suresh Doss's weekly food segment airs every Thursday on Metro Morning. Watch for video of his jaunts across the city on CBC Toronto's Facebook page.
Do you know a GTA restaurant that Doss should visit? Tweet us @metromorning or send us a message on Facebook. And if you try any of the places he features, we want to see photos!
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