Growing up in Alaska, my family and I didn’t have much experience with a variety of foods. We didn’t eat a lot of “foreign” food besides Chinese and Mexican. (Perhaps that’s where my obsession with Mexican food comes from though.) I wasn’t aware that there was a massive variety of other non-American food types until I finished college and moved to a larger city. (Although, I think my hometown did have a bit more going for it than we went to, but I think perhaps my parents were less adventurous with food then as well). I started experiencing Indian food, sushi and a variety of things I didn’t even know existed. Now, I definitely love to try food from anywhere, and I have grown to appreciate localized food from most places I’ve visited. (Apparently ants are commonly eaten in Scandinavian countries, and I’ve been to two different places that found interesting ways to use them in dishes.) Of course, it’s very difficult to find food outside of its home country that is as good as or better than the local food. I still remember the first Massaman curry I had in Thailand, and how the food there was fantastic. While I’ve eaten decent Thai food outside of Thailand, it wasn’t until I went to Kin Khao that I realized its full potential.
I first heard about Kin Khao when I was visiting the bay area from London. We just ate at another amazing restaurant, and the waiter started recommending new restaurants to us, and Kin Khao was one of them. As it turns out, Kin Khao was also the Thai restaurant in the hotel we had stayed at for part of the trip, and I kind of ignored it when we stayed there because hotel restaurants can really be hit or (usually) miss. But we did give it the benefit of the doubt, so we headed over there and really fell in love. We tried a relish on the menu that described itself as not something for a Thai beginner, so of course we had to order it, and it just had this remarkably amazing and different flavor. It’s one thing that really stuck out with us from our visit. I also had to try the black rice dessert, and while it wasn’t to my taste, it was a really creative way to end the meal as the rice was accompanied with a selection of different toppings to add to it to customize it to your own palate.
It’s probably the restaurant we’ve been to the most since moving back to the bay area. The first time returned, they had added a tasting menu. It had a few things on it that we probably wouldn’t have ordered by glancing at the menu, but these menus often showcase food that the restaurant is proud of, so we went for it.. There was a mushroom mousse served with puffed riced crackers that really wowed me. It wasn’t that spicy, but the mousse was so decadent it didn’t really matter. Plus the puffed rice crackers were absolutely brilliant with it. Almost everything else they brought out on the menu turned out to be interesting and full of the salty, sweet, bitter and sour combination that Thai food really should bring to the table. And sometimes the heat is really in your face (but not overpowering, as the other flavors also shine through). Sadly, the relish wasn’t on the tasting menu, and we opted to not order it as an extra dish (although we wondered if we had made a mistake afterwards).
Of course, the food varies and there are dishes that aren’t exactly to our taste. One of our trips there we had decided in advance not to get the tasting menu, mostly because we were craving that delicious relish again. This time, the relish was different and more tomato based than before. We were concerned about it having too much tomato and that it was too different than the previous one on the menu, and we were assured that wasn’t the case. Sadly, it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the punch of flavor was lacking. This time, we also ordered the wings again, because we remembered how good they were from the first time we went, and while enjoyable, they just weren’t quite as good as we remembered. The beef cheek Massaman curry was still incredibly tasty though, and this visit did not deter us from revisiting. We did ask if they decided to dial back the heat for people who aren’t familiar with Thai food, and the waiter did say that it varies depending on the dish and the season.
The last time we went, we had it in our heads that we were going to order the tasting menu again, but there was a third type of relish on the menu that sounded a lot more like the first one we had, and this one was made with pork and peas which caused us to order a la carte. We started with a few of the snacks, as the house made pickled vegetables sounded great and we always love a good pork crackling. Both of which were incredibly tasty and a great way to whet our appetites. We also ordered the mushroom mousse again because of how much we loved it the first time we had it. We also saw a catfish and prawn dish on the menu that sounded fantastic, and when it arrived, it looked amazing with small bits of fried catfish mixed with some prawns. There was also a fried prawn head on top that we were encouraged to eat, and I’m never one to give up some head (as it’s quite commonly served with one of our favorite sushi orders), so we happily munched on it. The dish itself was really tasty with a huge punch of flavor. The relish was absolutely fantastic, as it was full of flavor and heat, so we were happy it was back on form. And the green rabbit curry is always a winner, with a decadent curry sauce, braised rabbit and small rabbit meatballs. It feels like a simple green curry, but it is just elevated to new heights with the protein choice.
I can’t write about Kin Khao without mentioning the drinks. They have an interesting cocktail list, with a variety of drinks ranging from sweet to savory to spicy. We always find one or two on the menu to start with, as they really add a nice Asian flair to a more recognizable cocktail. They also have a pretty decent wine list, but we always seem to gravitate toward a Rioja on the menu, as there is one that is usually older than many of the California wines on the list (and at a slightly lower price point too).
I find that I use Kin Khao as a very high bar when dining at other Thai restaurants. It’s very hard not to because the food really is amazing (or perhaps we just order really well). I love trying new places, but sometimes when a restaurant really has found its groove, you want to keep going back because you’re worried that the new place just wont stand up to the same level. I feel like we’ll keep returning for some amazing Thai food and drinks!
Score: 4.5/5
Recommendation: Go for things that sound unfamiliar, those seem to be where they excel. And the mushroom mousse.
Kin Khao
55 Cyril Magnin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
This looks and sounds amazing! I will definitely try Kin Khao!
How do you eat the relishes? Just straight up?
They’re usually mixed with rice, or with rice and curry, or served with vegetables or crackling. I think it varies on the type!