Song: Bold Thai cuisine on East Broadway

In Thai, song means “two,” and the name points straight to the restaurant’s roots. Song is the second chapter of Kin Kao, the Thai restaurant on Commercial Drive, under a different ownership. Co-owner Terrence Feng spent years shaping the project. To see it through, he called on Dave Loeuy, a friend since they were both 12. His friend was working up north with a young family at the time, and the offer brought him back to Vancouver as a partner.

A sibling with a style of its own

The family tie caused a bit of confusion early on, with guests booking at one address and showing up at the other. The team settled on keeping Song as the main name, with “(by Kin Kao)” in parentheses so diners know who stands behind it.

The room was designed by Scott & Scott Architects and borrows the materials and colours of its Commercial Drive sibling. Wood sets the tone, chosen for its warmth and for the patina it takes on with the years, and the pared-back finishes leave the spotlight on the plates.

Song charts its own course at the table. From day one, the co-owner wanted a dining experience without distractions, with no delivery drivers coming through the door. The restaurant has never offered takeout or delivery: it is a place to sit down, eat well and spend time with friends over dishes meant for sharing. The approach caught the Michelin Guide’s attention soon after opening, and Song has held a Bib Gourmand since the guide’s first Vancouver edition.

A menu that keeps its favourites

Close to a hundred recipes went through tastings before the Song team narrowed down the opening menu. About 70 per cent of those dishes are still served today, while the rest changes with the seasons. The shrimp toast is one that never leaves: organic milk bread from Fife Bakery, spread with a mix of prawns, egg and sesame, then deep-fried until golden. The one week it disappeared, because the bakery had no milk bread to deliver, guests were quick to ask for it.

The tom yum with prawns is the boldest statement on the menu. It arrives in a hot pot, sized to feed four or five people. Only the base is prepared ahead, with no seasoning at all; everything else goes in when the order comes through, from the galangal to the lemongrass and lime leaves. This is how tom yum is shared at the table in Thailand, so serving it any other way never made sense to the team. “We need to do it like they do in Thailand,” Song’s co-owner says.

The pad thai is built on noodles imported from Bangkok, prized for their chew, tossed in a house tamarind sauce with pressed tofu, pickled turnip and tiny dried shrimp. Around it, the menu covers a lot of ground. Laab wings come split, fried and dusted in a tangy Northern Thai seasoning, and the pomelo salad gets a crunch from crispy shallots, shredded coconut and cashews. Green curry with tender beef shank and a generous crab fried rice fill out the table. For dessert, lod chong layers coconut granita, house-made pandan strings, young coconut, corn and taro, while mango sticky rice takes a blue tint from butterfly pea flower. For those who’d rather let the kitchen decide, a family-style set menu is also on offer.

The pour-fect match

The cocktail list is signed by Tara Davies, owner of the Chupito bar. A toasted rice cream soda makes use of leftover rice, the lychee martini gets its edge from the fruit’s pickling brine, and the Tom Kah pairs tequila with lime leaf, galangal, ginger and a coconut pandan foam. On the alcohol-free side, a frozen green papaya drink puts Thai herb stems to good use. Natural wines and local craft beer and cider complete the list.

A team that shapes the menu

Even with a core of dishes, the Song’s menu stays open to new ideas. Many start at the staff meal, shared over the long stretch of cleaning up and chatting after service, or come back from a trip: the co-owner travels to Bangkok regularly, and anyone on the team who has a memorable meal, Thai or not, is encouraged to pitch something from it. The kitchen then works out its own take, and promising ones get a run as a special, staying on if guests take to them. The front-of-house team has stayed remarkably stable over the years, which keeps the welcome as warm as being received at home. Night after night, the dining room fills with regulars who keep coming back for a second helping, fitting for a restaurant whose name means two.

Written by Marie-Françoise Malo
Photography by Melody Lu and Nick Ma

Updated on October 18, 2026

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