Thaifoon - London’s Premiere Upscale Go-To Thai Restaurant

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Manisay Visouvath and Fouzan (Rafael) Beg are the proprietors of Thaifoon, downtown London’s upmarket Thai restaurant. The restaurant remains a family affair. Visouvath is the youngest sister of Eddy and Alex Phimprhrachanh’s mother, Arounvaty, who is the head chef at Thaifoon and the matriarch of a Thai food dynasty in the city. Several of Arounvaty’s sisters have opened successful Thai restaurants in the city after being mentored in the kitchen by her. 
 Visouvath was born in the Southeast Asian country and came to Canada with her parents in 1980. Rafael is from Hyderabad India. (Hyderabadi cuisine comprises a broad repertoire of rice, grains and meat dishes and the skilled use of various spices – Indian cuisine has a longer, slower burn, rather than the sharper, built-up spiciness of Thai cuisine.) 

Thaifoon’s with-it and tasteful take on the ancient Thai culture, with a décor that honours the past while embracing modernity, has earned both raves and admiration. The restaurant continues to set itself apart with bang-on exuberant flavours and an eye for detail and presentation.

The 38-seat restaurant is a tasteful and refined take on the ancient Siamese culture, with a soothing décor and a rich palette of browns and blacks with golden accents and pleasing Thai iconography. The minimalist room is sleek, with a sexy, Buddha Lounge style soundtrack, rich dark woods and ultra-soft leather banquettes with cushions. The kitchen’s oeuvre is a consistent showcase of Thailand’s regional flavours of hot, sweet, sour and salty, honouring tradition while embracing modernity. Thaifoon is careful to give you just the level of spicing you want. The restaurant is popular with vegetarian and gluten-free clients. 

Won-ton bundles are flawless — well-executed crispy and crunchy parcels of chili-infused minced chicken accompanied by a ginger and plum sauce. The Avo Moon Shine dumplings with fragrant minced chicken, tamarind and cashews are served with fresh sour cream and avocado dipping sauces. Savoury curries surpass expectations with richness and variations on spiciness that are tempered with velvety coconut milk and fragrant aromatics The pad Thai continues to be properly prepared with perfectly cooked noodles, firm tofu with a silky interior, egg, crisp bean sprouts, scallions, fragrant cilantro, minced peanuts, lime juice and the crucial sweet and sour tanginess.

The secret to their success is sticking to the basics of authentic Thai cooking and offering a mixture of spicy, sweet and salty but also rich coconut flavours mixed with fresh herbs like kaffir, lime leaves and lemongrass. Coconut milk is the foundation of the Thai curry. Rafael tells me that they use pure coconut milk and do not dilute their coconut milk like many other restaurants in the city. 

Arounvaty has kept her recipe grounded in how she was used to making and eating pad Thai back home — rice noodles cooked with fish sauce, sugar, tamarind, a few other spices and a touch of soy for the caramel colour. This summer they subtly tweaked signature dishes like their pad Thai and pad gra paw to offer more of a street style version of these dishes.
Thaifoon continues to receive raves and praise for their consistently well-prepared cuisine and responsive, knowledgeable service. Coconut and green tea ice creams are made in-house. 

This is London's premiere upscale go-to Thai restaurant. There is a top-shelf cocktail list, mangotinis, lycheetinis and Mai Thais, and an above average selection of imported beers and complementary wines. Singha beer, a pale lager, pairs nicely with the spicy flavours of Thai cuisine. There are plans for an exotic, secluded patio that will front on Carling Street. Thaifoon offers an extensive menu for dine-in, take-away and delivery. 

Thaifoon
120 Dundas Street (East of Talbot)
519-850-1222
thaifoonrestaurant.com



Lunch:  Mon to Fri 11:30am – 2:00pm
Dinner: Sun to Thu 4:30pm – 9:00pm
Dinner: Fri to Sat 4:30pm – 10:00pm



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