REVIEW | LOFT THAI EATERY | EDMONTON

When you think of Thai food, mac n' cheese, duck confit, and arancini are probably not what comes to mind. But at LOFT Thai Eatery, you can order these dishes. And then some. 

Like its name suggests, LOFT provides an elevated, modern take on traditional Thai cuisine. You'll still find Thai staples like pad Thai and tom yum goong on the menu, but under the helm of Chef Chon, he brings his years of experience working in world class kitchens to give Edmontonians an appreciation of what Thai cuisine could be.

The restaurant is located just off of 75th street and Roper Rd. Its neighbours are mostly industrial businesses. Considering the work crowd, the lunch menu is simplified to appies, soup and salads, and à la carte dishes. For dinner, that's when things get a little more interesting with an added selection of chef-driven entrees.

The dining space of LOFT is smaller than what the outside appears, so I'd suggest making a reservation to avoid disappointment. However, on the Friday evening that we were there, things really didn't start to pick up until after 7:00.

Starting off our meal, we both ordered a Thai iced tea ($2.50). As explained by our waitress, Thai iced tea is made from steeped Thai tea and milk. Similar to milk tea in that sense. It was light and refreshing, and pretty much a steal at $2.50. I'm pretty sure canned pop costs more at other restaurants.

For an appetizer, we decided on the crabmeat rangoon ($13.00). Fried wonton wrappers filled with real crab meat, cream cheese, garlic, onion, and spices. It also comes with an sweet apple chili sauce for dipping. These were tasty little morsels. Nice and crunchy. The sweet chili sauce was only sweet and could have used a bit more heat.

The seafood drunken bucatini ($19.00) is a dish also available during lunch, but it does a good job of showcasing the chef's creativity with fusion flavours. Bucatini pasta (a hollow spaghetti) is stir-fried with a medley of mussels, clams, shrimp, mushrooms, carrots, and bell peppers in an aromatic Thai basil pesto. For a vegetarian option, you can also order it with tofu instead.

Listed with three chili peppers on the menu, it's deceptively hot, as the spice creeps up on you. It ended up being a bit too spicy for a wimp like me, but anyone else would probably be able to handle it.

For our final entree, we decided on the braised duck confit curry ($25.00). The presentation was beautiful; it definitely wouldn't look out of place at any other fine dining restaurant in town. A braised and roasted duck leg sits on top of a smear of pureed yam, and an aromatic red curry with pineapple, lychee, and longans. The sauteed seasonal vegetables ended up being a duo of carrots and broccoli.

Although I'm eyeing the oven-roasted lamb chops for my next visit, I think it'd be hard to pass up ordering this dish again! The duck was delicious and tender, and the curry sauce was fragrant and flavourful. A bit of heat in there but nothing that will blow your socks off. The longan was also a nice bit of sweetness to break up the curry spice.

All entrees come with a side item, your choice of LOFT mix green salad, steamed jasmine rice, or coconut rice. It seems like an obvious choice -- get the coconut rice with fried shallots. 

Although we were quite full at this point, we thought the next best thing to do was tackle a dessert. I mean, that's what your second stomach is for right? The mango sticky rice ($8.50) came with half a cubed mango, and a jar of warm coconut-scented sticky rice. It was probably not a wise decision to end off with this dessert since it's a bit starchy and stick-to-your-ribs. The mango helps balance that out a bit though.


Seeing all the good reviews out there, I certainly had LOFT-y expectations (sorry, bad joke), but I have to say, LOFT definitely impressed me. Give them a chance to impress you.

LOFT Thai Eatery

www.loftthaieatery.com

5324 75 Street NW
Edmonton, AB

(780) 466-5638

- CT