Introducing: Kanpai, a taste of Taiwan’s night market scene, in Cabbagetown
Introducing: Kanpai, a taste of Taiwan’s night market scene, in Cabbagetown
Name: Kanpai Snack Bar
Neighbourhood: Cabbagetown
Contact: 252 Carlton, 416-968-6888, @kanpaisnackbar
Owners: Trevor Lui, Ike Huang
Chef: Ike Huang
The Food: Salty, sweet and spicy snacks inspired by Taiwan’s xiaochi (“small eats”), found at the country’s night markets. “Just like the Spanish have pintxos and tapas, and the Mediterranean has mezze, the Taiwanese have xiaochi,” explains Lui. Food here is meant to encourage drinking, and vice-versa. The menu is made up of traditional bar snacks like fried and spiced anchovies (move over, pretzels), hot and cold small plates for sharing (bao, fried tofu) and one family-sized fried chicken dinner that comes with a six-pack of PBR.
The Drinks: The bubble tea–less drink list is made up of 12 potables on tap, including six beers, Izumi sake from the Distillery, two VQA wines, two classic cocktails and Station Cold Brew coffee. There’s also a short list of house cocktails (including one from west side bar chum, Montauk), caesars with an Asian twist (out with Worcestershire, in with shoyu), craft beer in bottles and cans, a couple of ciders and $3 shots of Jameson. Also, “punch pots,” a daily rotating cocktail made in an oversized teapot and meant to serve four to five thirsty people—the bar’s take on Chinatown’s famous “cold tea.”
The Place: Design company Green Tangerine took what was previously Ginger Restaurant and transformed it using as much reclaimed material as possible (including, for the walls, a whole lot of skids collected from shopping mall docks).
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- Funny Fish: whole anchovies wok-fried with sweet chili oil, hot peppers, garlic and green onions ($4).
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- Oh-Ree-Ental Mix: dehydrated chilies, peas and nuts tossed in sweet and salty spices ($4).
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- Heads or Tails: whole shrimp coated with a sauce made of sesame oil, chili paste, chili oil and sugar. "It's encouraged to peel them with your mouth because all the sauce is on the outside" says Lui, "but if you want to peel and eat them with your hands, there's extra sauce on the side" ($6 for five).
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- Fu Manchu: silken tofu lightly fried and drenched in a sweet chili sauce ($5).
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- O.G. Bao: traditional steamed buns stuffed with pork belly, a Taiwanese relish made with mustard greens, pickled vegetables and cilantro ($5 each).
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- TFC: fried chicken dressed with a sweet and spicy sauce, cilantro, hot peppers, lemon, and salt and pepper that's been wok-fried and ground ($8 for three pieces/$19.50 for eight pieces).
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- Taiwanese Red Neck Dinner: twelve pieces of fried chicken (dressed table-side), three Taiwanese "antipasto," fried rice, Taipei Tater Slaw, bao with spicy butter and the pièce de résistance, a six-pack of PBR tallboys ($108, feeds six people).
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- Ping Pong Beignet: purple yam, sweet potato and whole-wheat flour donuts are fried then tossed in a brown paper bag and given a dusting of sugar ($6 for bag of 12).
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- Those walls to the right? Broken-down skids.
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- The tap handles are knives that Lui imported from Taiwan (the blades have been dulled, much to the bartenders' relief).
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- Lui makes a "punch pot" of the restaurant's Ooh Long Island Iced Tea: oolong tea, gin, Tromba Tequila, Patron Citronge, Havana three-year-old rum, basil-ginger syrup, fresh basil and lemon-lime juice ($MP).
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![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/introducing-kanpai-taste-taiwans-night-market-scene-cabbagetown/&title=Introducing: Kanpai, a taste of Taiwan’s night market scene, in Cabbagetown&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/toronto-restaurants-kanpai-lead1.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_313326" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Gabby Frank)[/caption]
Name: Kanpai Snack Bar
Neighbourhood: Cabbagetown
Contact: 252 Carlton, 416-968-6888, @kanpaisnackbar
Owners: Trevor Lui, Ike Huang
Chef: Ike Huang
The Food: Salty, sweet and spicy snacks inspired by Taiwan's xiaochi ("small eats"), found at the country's night markets. "Just like the Spanish have pintxos and tapas, and the Mediterranean has mezze, the Taiwanese have xiaochi," explains Lui. Food here is meant to encourage drinking, and vice-versa. The menu is made up of traditional bar snacks like fried and spiced anchovies (move over, pretzels), hot and cold small plates for sharing (bao, fried tofu) and one family-sized fried chicken dinner that comes with a six-pack of PBR.
The Drinks: The bubble tea–less drink list is made up of 12 potables on tap, including six beers, Izumi sake from the Distillery, two VQA wines, two classic cocktails and Station Cold Brew coffee. There's also a short list of house cocktails (including one from west side bar chum, Montauk), caesars with an Asian twist (out with Worcestershire, in with shoyu), craft beer in bottles and cans, a couple of ciders and $3 shots of Jameson. Also, "punch pots," a daily rotating cocktail made in an oversized teapot and meant to serve four to five thirsty people—the bar's take on Chinatown's famous "cold tea."
The Place: Design company Green Tangerine took what was previously Ginger Restaurant and transformed it using as much reclaimed material as possible (including, for the walls, a whole lot of skids collected from shopping mall docks).
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West: 84
East: 5
I love the girls in the restaurant , i felt up a waitress and she grabbed my cock.
If you want a beating, my phone is 4168055643