What’s on the menu at Larb Muang, a new Thai restaurant with a Michelin connection

Name: Larb Muang Contact: 45 Baldwin St., @larbmuang
Neighbourhood: Baldwin Village Owners: Porpy Aq, Pum Wongchaiya and Gotch Klangtongduang Chef: Porpy Aq Accessibility: Not fully accessible

Over a decade ago, Gotch Klangtongduang immigrated to Toronto for love. “I was working in Thailand as a designer for Nike, but then I met my husband and moved to Canada for him, so I had to start over,” she says. Klangtongduang had always helped her parents prepare the family’s meals but had never really cooked for herself. “When I got here, I realized if I wanted the food from back home, I would have to make it myself.”

Klangtongduang had always been interested in pastry, so that’s where she began her new journey. “Whatever I do, I always take it to the extreme, so baking wasn’t going to be just a hobby for me. I signed up for George Brown’s baking arts program.” During that time, she met Phanom Suksaen—who has a stake in Eat BKK, Savor and Som Tum Jinda—and the two decided that the city needed a restaurant serving authentic southern Thai cuisine. Together, Klangtongduang and Suksaen opened Koh Lipe (which has earned a Michelin recommendation three years in a row) and then Kati, a gelateria that specializes in Thai desserts and ice cream flavours like tom yum and mango sticky rice.

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For the duo’s third project together, Klangtongduang plucked Porpy Aq, one of the cooks from Eat BKK, to head the kitchen. “Porpy is from the north and has incredible skill. We needed to open a place for her talent to shine,” says Klangtongduang. Larb Muang is a study in the layered, often unanticipated flavours and textures of northern Thai cuisine. “In the south of Thailand, we have the ocean, so we explore fish and seafood at Koh Lipe,” says manager and co-owner Pum Wongchaiya. “But, in the north, we have the mountains and cooler temperatures, so we work more with land animals and warm spices—like what you see in a regional dish like khao soi.” Both Wongchaiya and Klangtongduang (who named her daughter Lanna after a state in northern Thailand) favour northern cuisine over that of the south, and this love is reflected in every dish.

The Food

While there are some familiar dishes, like the ever-popular khao soi, the bulk of the menu is built on lesser-known plates, like punchy larb kua, a flavour-packed stir-fry of ground pork, pork intestine, garlic and fried shallots. There’s also kai pan, grilled egg omelettes in banana leaf, and khao kan chin, steamed jasmine rice with pork blood, fried garlic and shallots. These unapologetically unfamiliar dishes explode with Thai flavours: galangal, Thai chili, coriander, lime leaf, cardamom and cumin.

The Drinks

Klangtongduang heads up the bar with a collection of tropical cocktails that are mostly built on the flavours coming out of the kitchen—a little bit tropical, a lot Thai. House-made tinctures, infusions and sweeteners—Szechuan pepper bitters, wildberry syrup, khao soi whisky, tamarind vodka—are found throughout the card. A must-try is their knockout take on a piña colada: the Phu Pin is a warmly spiced, fragrant and fruity blend of white rum, coconut rum, RumChata, turmeric syrup, pineapple juice, passion fruit juice and coconut milk.

The Space

The focal point of the otherwise dark and moody room is a massive, brightly coloured, hand-painted wall mural that works as a backdrop for the communal banquette. Beautifully embroidered textiles, vibrant silks and basket-woven light fixtures showcase the team’s pride in their heritage and the culture of northern Thailand.