I used to frequent the Queen Mother Cafe in the late 80s and early 90s. In addition to fairly dependable versions of Thai-Laotian dishes, I remember a great pistachio-crusted lamb loin at one point.
Although we are often in the area, I hadn’t been for perhaps 30 years. So before a performance at the Four Seasons Centre, we decided to go for old times sake. Overall verdict, enjoyable if not always spectacular food, spotty service, and a bill that came in well under $100 for two.
We had two cocktails:
- Peach Bellini: peach schnapps, peach puree, prosecco. garnished with peach and mint. A little sour, but otherwise fine.
- Strawberry Fields Forever: whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, bitters, ginger beer, strawberries. Quite yummy.
Coconut Curry Spinach Lentil Soup was nicely spiced comfort food.
Batu Sambol (Sri Lankan Eggplant Dip) featured oven roasted eggplant dip with green chillies, shallots, coriander, curry leaves, lime juice, and coconut milk, served with grilled naan bread. The dip was great. The “naan” was very non-descript flatbread, like grocery store pita.
Ping Gai: boneless chicken marinated with garlic, coriander, and black peppercorns, grilled crispy and served with salad greens, steamed jasmine rice, and a spicy lime coriander dipping sauce. Really good, moist and flavourful chicken, with a tasty sauce. Salad had way too much dressing.
Bah Me Hang: thin egg noodles, stir-fried with shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts, onion, and celery in a spicy soy-chili sauce, topped with peanuts and cilantro. Just OK. Not as good as how I remember their pad thai. Probably should have retried that instead.
