Linda Modern Thai

After a lovely afternoon of shopping, Steph and I drove over to Shops at Don Mills for dinner at Linda:
Long Bean & Cucumber Salad
We started off with the long bean and cucumber salad because Steph thought we should incorporate some sort of healthy dish in our dinner. Neither of us had ever tried it, but it's a traditional Thai salad that is actually prepared table-side by the server. It's a mix of long beans, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, basil, crushed peanuts, dried shrimps, and a fish sauce-vinaigrette mix. It's simple with clean, fresh flavours and a nice crunchy bite, but neither of us thought it was phenomenal. For the portion you get, I personally didn't think it was worth the $9 — the mango salad is a much better salad option here, in my opinion.
Homemade Vegetable Spring Rolls
I don't think I'd ever tried the spring rolls here (or even at Salad King, Linda's sister restaurant and a staple during my university days at Ryerson), but Steph insisted they were her favourite spring rolls in the city. After tasting one, I'd have to agree; definitely the best I've had at any Thai/Vietnamese/Asian fusion restaurant. Each roll is filled to the brim with full strips of various vegetables that are tender but still firm (e.g. not mushy), and the wrappers are just the right thickness and fried to a perfect golden crisp. A definite must-have here. And Steph taught me an awesome trick: slice the roll length-wise in half but not all the way through (akin to a hot dog bun) and drizzle the accompanying fish sauce into it for the perfect roll-to-sauce ratio. Seriously, a game-changer.
Panang Curry with Crispy Beef
Okay, so when I used to eat at Salad King all the time (like, three times a week) as a student, my go-to dish was the panang curry with chicken. Panang is a rich, creamy curry made with coconut milk and peanuts, and it is a great choice for those who like a milder, sweeter curry (it's the same reason why I prefer korma at Indian restaurants). Their version is infused with sweet Asian basil and lime leaf, and cooked with a ton of green and red bell peppers. It comes with a bowl of steamed white rice, which I like to dump into my curry so every little bit of it is soaked up. Anyway, when I saw that crispy beef was an option, I decided to try it because it sounded intriguing. Basically, it's a big, chunky strip of beef that's battered and deep-fried. It's pretty good, but the beef was on the tougher, drier side (the key is to drench it in the curry, of course, but I still thought it was a bit too chewy for my liking), and I think if you're going to be charging $17 for this dish, the beef should be a bit better quality. Plus, I thought it made an already rich dish a little too heavy, so I think I'll stick to chicken or shrimp next time. That having been said, you can never go wrong with the panang — my bowl was completely cleaned out, 'cause, holy crap, is it ever addictive.
Though the decor is nicer and the ambience is cozier and more romantic than Salad King, I still say Salad King is far more worth it if you're willing to make the trek downtown. They serve almost the exact same menu with the exact same recipes, but Linda is nearly double the price — you're essentially paying for the atmosphere, more attentive service, and the location (Shops at Don Mills is pretty fancy, after all). Still, it's a great option for tasty, authentic Thai food, or if you're craving Salad King when you're not in the downtown core — just be prepared to shell out a pretty penny for it.

Linda Modern Thai Shops at Don Mills 11 Karl Fraser Road North York, ON M3C 0E7 (416) 642-3866