Toronto gets its first Thai bakery

Patchmon’s Thai Desserts & More, Toronto’s first traditional Thai dessert shop, turns out trays of vibrant sweets and savoury snacks. Most of the sugary treats are steamed, rather than baked, and made from a combo of eggs (a mix of chicken and duck), coconut cream, coconut flesh, rice and tapioca flour, palm sugar and mung beans. Chef and owner Patchmon Su-Anchalee’s specialty is her selection of auspicious desserts—goodies that have traditional meanings associated with them. One of these is foi thong, a golden spool of syrup-boiled egg yolk strands that’s supposed to bring lasting love. The bite-sized morsels themselves are a labour of love; it takes about an hour to make a single ten-piece box. Before moving to Toronto in 2003, Su-Anchalee’s family ran a bakery in Bangkok, but she was more involved with marketing. “I started perfecting my desserts because of my husband’s sweet tooth,” she says. After years of working the line at local Thai restaurants, Su-Anchalee decided she wanted to open her own business and found a cheery blue-and-gold striped room in Bloor West Village. Not only did the space need zero renovations, but, for Thais, the colour gold is associated with success. Obviously, it was meant to be.

2463 Bloor Street West, 647-882-5250, thaidesserts.ca