Khunnai Chang
Madame Elephant
Thai Cuisine
835 Denman St
Vancouver, BC
No, no joke, that’s the full name of this place! This is one of those places I have visited a couple of times but I always forget to bring my camera here. Is it fair if I blog about a place without any pictures documenting it? I am digressing here… A work colleague was leaving by the end of the month and, in an odd way, I have barely talked to him in the 4 months I have been in my new job. So, just before he left, I thought I should at least socialize with him. So I invited him to a place of his choice in the area. He chose Khunnai Chang.
The sign to the left is of a place I have visited previously, Ma Dang Coul. Ah, Denman Street… So many restaurants…
The menu is composed of many Thai staples, like Pad Thai, different curries and some stir fried dishes, among others. Since it was lunch, we chose from their lunch sets, almost all of them at $8 each.
It started with a small soup. In this case, Tom Yum soup. I will have to say it was quite pungent but good nonetheless. It was a good thing it was a small bowl; I don’t think I would have easily drank something larger.
Green curry (chicken and eggplant), my colleague’s order.
Red curry (pork and eggplant), my order.
The spring roll was crunchy, though a bit on the oily side. The dip managed to “cut” that greasiness so it was good. As for the curry, according to my colleague, he ordered the green curry because it is spicier than the yellow or red. I have doubts of his claim but, hey, he was eating it, not me. As for mine, it was on the lines of sweet rather than spicy. Despite it is made with coconut milk (probably the reason for its “sweetness”), it was quite runny. However, once you pour it over the rice, some magic happens: it suddenly starts to thicken, making it a bit creamy.
In the end, it was quite a good lunch. Of course, it was improved because of the conversation I had with my colleague, why he was leaving the company (despite the crazy economic situation) and standpoints of life. AN, despite I have barely met you, best wishes in your new endeavours!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
good luck to your friend!
I have never heard the green curry “spice” argument before. Let us know if you find anything about this; I’m the guy ordering the hot dishes, so it would be something to consider if there is some truth.
Pearl, as far as I know, he does not know about this blog, but will let hiim know about your best wishes!
Raidar, welcome! I will let you know if I go back and order this dish. But, then again, I have doubts about this claim…
Actually, there is a difference… yellow is the mildest, red about medium and green the spiciest. Of course each one can be made as spicy as one could want…
Chuck, welcome and thanks for your comments! Either my threshold of heat/spicyness is different compared to others, or the chef here leveled it down, as most of the non-Indian yellow, red or green curry I had, well, I simply did not taste/feel that heat/spicyness. This is specially considering that I tend to sweat a lot after eating spicy food!
Kim, I have to agree with Chuck – green curry paste in and of itself should be the spiciest of them all. I just went to Khunnai tonight for dinner and was extremely glad I did! It’s the best Thai to date that I have found in Vancouver. I think my mom would even approve!
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