By Chef Nuit pop up menu arrives with love and surprises

I miss Chef Nuit Regular’s food. Her Pad Gra Prow and Khao Soi dishes are comforting and richly satisfying.

Pre-covid, you would easily find me happily stuffing my face at one of her restaurants. But like many of you, I’ve been doing my part to minimize potential exposure to COVID19 and limiting outings. At the same time, I’m also trying to support the great small businesses when I can.

 Chef Nuit
Chef Nuit

When Chef Nuit announced she was ready to launch a pop-up menu with dishes that have been swirling in her mind, I perked up. The award-winning and much loved Toronto-based chef who’s known for her regional Thai dishes are getting ready again to blow our food-loving minds.

By Chef Nuit’s Pop Up Menu is something I’ve been looking forward to – it’s creative and exciting. And as one person summed it up perfectly, this menu is like “eating our feelings! for this moment in time.”

Chef Nuit’s pop up menu, which is currently in soft launch and full roll out in coming days, features a very playful and fun side of Chef Nuit. With a twinkle in her eye, she tells us that the items on this menu have been in the back of her mind for over two years. There wasn’t really enough time in the past to fully develop the recipes that she had envisioned until now. But with the gift of time during COVID, Chef Nuit was able to explore and make her dreams (and now ours) come true. We know Chef has a clear vision of how each dish should taste and look and time offered her that opportunity to create each recipe with love. She also pointed out that it seemed like the right time now for her kitchen to bring out some delicious happiness. “It’s comfort food for these times,” said Chef Nuit.

The menu is a play on familiar dishes and familiar ingredients you would find on Chef Nuit’s signature dishes – poutine? Get ready for a knock out Penang Curry Poutine – yes with cheese curds, too! My favourite Pad Gra Prow dish is now a burger! Whoa! Wing lovers definitely won’t want to miss her Pad Thai Wings and Laap Wings. You’ll also want to double up your order of Chef’s Nuit’s very own Pad See Ew — a comforting dish and the best I’ve tried anywhere to date.

Chef Nuit’s very own Pad See Ew

Chef Nuit has established herself as an ambassador of Thailand, Thai culture, and Thai food with the success of her restaurants PAI Northern Thai Kitchen, Kiin, Sabai Sabai, and Sukthothai here in Toronto. As her dream of sharing Thai cuisine continues to grow, Chef Nuit is bringing her unique Thai food experiences beyond her restaurant walls. The kitchen is her culinary playground. Her creations range from her take on Thai street food to Royal Thai cuisine and all the dishes in between. Her modern interpretation is full of inspiration and leaves us wanting more.

By Chef Nuit’s Pop-Up Menu will be available beginning this week and will last for a few months. The dishes are available for take-out and delivery out of Kiin Restaurant. There is also limited patio space. Please call ahead to book with all health and safety protocols in place. Pop Up Menu will be available through Uber Eats, Ritual, Doordash, and Skip the Dishes. More details here: www.bychefnuit.com

Chef Nuit will also be publishing her highly anticipated cookbook, Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand, this coming October. Pre-orders are now available here.

Here’s a sneak peek at just some of her incredible dishes on the pop up menu…

 Chef Nuit
Penang Curry Poutine (forefront), Satay Peanut Poutine, Yum Yai Salad with grilled beef.

 

Yum Yai Salad with the option to add grilled steak, shrimp, or grilled Portobello Mushroom.

 

Pad Gra Prow Burger. Choice of Beef, Pork or Portobello Mushroom.

 

Laap Chicken Wings made with roasted rice, chili peppers, lemongrass, coriander and Chef Nuit’s secret spices.

 

 Chef Nuit
Massaam Beef Sandwich made with braised beef, pickled vegetables, crispy shallot served on a fresh crusty bun.

 

About Sonya Davidson 956 Articles
Senior writer. Covering arts & culture, wellness, food, travel and special events.