Vancouver favourite Thai restaurant stuns with new cocktail menu — here's what to order

When we hear that Tara Davies is involved in a beverage program, we know we’re in very capable hands. So imagine our delight when we strolled into Song (by Kin Kao) for a quick bite and saw that her name was proudly displayed under the cocktail menu.

Whether you’ve known it or not, if you’re someone who frequents some of Vancouver’s top restaurants, you’ve most likely had one of Davies creations. Not only is she the owner-operator of the beloved Chuptio (which recently brought back its iconic yellow shipping container), but she is also behind cocktail menus at popular local establishments like Pinche Taco Shop and Chanthy Yen’s Touk.

This all goes to say that Davies knows what she’s doing behind the bar.

 

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Davies has crafted a culinary-forward cocktail menu at Song, influenced both by the food it’s serving and the history of Thailand itself, something that she told us is one of the most important things when designing a cocktail menu.

“When developing the menu at Song, I sat down and had the most delicious meal, and analyzed the different regions that the food was coming from to see which regions they were highlighting so that I could do the same in the drinks,” explained Davies over the phone following our visit.

This is specifically seen in one of the first cocktails we tried, the Toasted Rice Cream Soda, which Davies said is a way to honour the rice production of the region.

“I really wanted to introduce rice wines into the cocktail program because there’s lots of rice production in Thailand, but they also use rice in different ways in their cuisines. They’re making wines out of it, they’re making distillates out of it, and then they’re introducing it into their cuisine as well,” she said.

The result? A carbonated beverage that is reminiscent of the soda we had grown to love as children, which is another focus Davies makes sure to consider when creating a cocktail menu.

“I loved cream sodas when I was growing up, and I feel like a lot of people can relate to just crushing a good cream soda,” she said with a laugh.

Similarly, the Lychee Martini is another one of those approachable favourites with a modern twist, enticing folks who might be intimidated by some of the other, more unique drinks on the menu (like the Tom Yum cocktail, a drink made with actual tom yum soup). This martini is made with the pickling brine in the lychee to differentiate it from other variations in the city, but it still brings in some of the different flavours you’d find in Thai food.

Following our first round of drinks, we were presented with an assortment of bar snacks to delve into. Oysters came out topped with house spicy nam jim seafood sauce, Thai chili paste, and showered with crispy shallots and deep-fried alongside bite-sized Laab Wings tossed in a tangy Northern Thai laab spice that danced on our taste buds.

When dining in Vancouver, it sometimes feels like you have to choose between somewhere serving good cocktails and somewhere with some standout bites. But with this latest cocktail menu, we’re happy to say that Song is serving the best of both worlds.

Other highlights included Crispy Taro Rolls served with a side of sweet Thai chili tamarind sauce and Shrimp Toast made with Fife Bakery’s organic milk bread.

Once we had properly dived into the selection of tasty bites, we ordered our second round of drinks, which included the Tom Kah — a tequila-based drink served with lime leaf, galangal, ginger, and coconut pandan foam.

While tequila might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Thai cuisine, we were not surprised at all to see the addition on the menu given Davies’ history with the agave spirit.

Davies’ first foray into the world of spirits was actually in the city of Tequila in Mexico, where she taught professional English to help local agave spirit producers do more exports to the United States and Canada before returning and starting her beverage career. This all goes to say, don’t knock the tequila-based cocktail until you try it.

But perhaps our favourite drink of the night was the non-alcoholic creation called the Green Papaya. While the drink might not have the most romantic reasoning for its existence (“co-owner Terrance Feng wanted a frozen drink,” explained Davies), it definitely is further proof of another issue that Davies holds close to her heart — a low-waste cocktail menu.

“I love a frozen drink, as per my Chupito background, and there were all of these leftover Thai herb stems that we wanted to utilize that would otherwise be thrown away from the kitchen,” said Davies.

This effort to use ingredients that would otherwise be thrown out is something Davies aims to do with all of her cocktail menus. As part of the menu creation process, she sits down with the kitchen team to learn what ingredients would otherwise be thrown away, and then creates drinks around them.

You’ll find this use of these kitchen byproducts in most of the drinks on the menu, such as the use of leftover rice in the creation of the Toasted Rice Cream Soda. This is also why you won’t find too many flashy garnishes on Davies’ cocktails either.

Our meal was, unfortunately, coming to a close. But we couldn’t leave without one sweet treat. Like many, our hearts longed for the Mango Sticky Rice, but upon suggestion from our server, we opted to also order the Lod Chong.

The Lod Chong is a classic Thai dessert made with creamy coconut milk, house-made pandan strings, coconut granita, young coconut, corn, and taro. What resulted was this refreshing and sweet bowl of yummy goodness that ended up being one of our favourite bites of the night.

When speaking with Davies and asking her what some of her favourite dishes at Song are, we learnt that she also shares a similar sentiment when it comes to the food.

“Everything is so good,” she exclaimed. We couldn’t agree with her more.

Song (by Kin Kao)

Address: 317 E. Broadway, Vancouver

Instaram

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