Thai New Year – Songkran, also known as the Water Festival, lands on April 13th every year and runs until the 15th. In honour of this celebration, ALMA+GIL by chefs Gerry Quintero and Mandy Sou, are partnering with local Thai artist Anson Ng to bring you a Thai food feast that you won't want to miss out on.
Even if you don't personally celebrate Songkran, it's a great opportunity to learn more about Thai culture and experience more Thai cuisine (with an ALMA+GIL twist), beyond the popular dishes like Pad Thai you find across the city.
Chefs Quintero and Sou spent years working at Linda Modern Thai, the now closed sister restaurant to Salad King.
"At Linda we developed a further interest in Thai culture," says Sou. "Gerry even went to Thailand for a stage at Bo.lan restaurant, on The World's Best list. He also happened to be in Thailand during Songkran, where he got thrown into the pool of Bo.lan in celebration of New Year's. At least they were kind enough to ask him for his cellphone and keys before tossing him in."
Pre-order only, the menu is available fully vegetarian and can accommodate multiple diners. They have feasts for those eating solo, for two people or four people, with the ability for optional add-ons, enabling you to try more dishes.
Both the meat and vegetarian menu come with a Pomelo Salad, Rice with Chilies and Tropical Fruit to finish. Add-ons include Pork Skewers, Stir-Fried Morning Glory, Coconut Curry and Thai Milk Tea.
The deadline to pre-order is today, Sunday, April 10th at midnight, for pick-up or delivery on Wednesday the 13th. Do so by visiting ALMA+GIL's website.
Longtime friends who initially intended to collaborate on ALMA+GIL's Lunar New Year Feast back in February, the trio first met nearly a decade ago, while working at the long-shuttered A-OK Foods. At the time, Ng's family owned Thai Princess restaurant on King Street.
"While we went on separate paths our friendship endured," says Ng. "We even worked together on their logo when I was still in school. They've had my support from the beginning and I've come by to eat their food — which was always delicious even back then."
"We've stayed friends over the years and watched as he went from cooking to art school to follow his passion," says chef Sou. "We talked about doing a collaboration one day, and even discussed a Lunar New Year collab but the timing wasn't right. Anson is Thai, so it made sense to collaborate for Thai New Year's. Anson may not cook anymore, but he's a lover of food and has been a supporter of us over the years."
No longer in kitchens, Ng has since dove into art full-time, most-known for his work that incorporates iconic storefronts, all while capturing his own childhood memories of Toronto’s Chinatown. With your Thai New Year Feast order, you can look forward to receiving one of his prints. You can also explore more of Ng's work and maybe order a print or painting for yourself, on his website or via Instagram.
"We started the Thai New Year's Feast last year so we could cook foods that we've missed," says Sou. "Our monthly feasts keeps it interesting not just for our diners as the theme changes every month, but also lets us cook a variety of cuisines not on our cafe menu. Thai food will always be special to us."
After their Songkran Feast, upcoming ones to keep an eye on include ALMA+GIL's Easter Feast, where the pre-order deadline is April 12th. Otherwise, be sure to drop by their newly opened storefront at 1543 Dupont Street, Wednesday through Saturday and pick up one of their popular breakfast sandwiches, amongst other great finds like fresh juices and baked treats.
Again, the deadline to pre-order their Songkran Feast is today, Sunday, April 10th at midnight, for pick-up or delivery on Wednesday the 13th. Order via ALMA+GIL's website.
Like with all their monthly feast offerings, a portion of the proceeds is dedicated towards Community Fridges Toronto, where the team actively contributes donation meals.
