The Smokin' Buddha

A menu that runs from Pad Thai and Thai Peanut Curry through Bulgogi Bowl, Tonkotsu Ramen, Chana Masala, and Nasi Goreng usually belongs to a food court. The Smokin' Buddha runs all of it from a single kitchen in Port Colborne's old train-station building and treats each line as comfort food rather than as a fusion checklist. The restaurant opened on King Street in October 2007, set into the causeway space at the eastern edge of the Canal District. Kevin Echlin and Kyla Pennie, credited as the founders in local coverage, built the kitchen around travel they had done through Southeast Asia — an origin that still tracks across the menu.

The order is mostly bowls and starters. Pad Thai arrives as tamarind noodles with tempeh, egg, peanuts, bean sprouts, and cilantro — the safe first move, but the sweet-sour balance shows the kitchen's edge. Thai Peanut Curry runs sweet peppers and peanuts through coconut milk over rice. The Bulgogi Bowl plates sesame beef, chicken, or tempeh over rice with cucumber, carrots, green onion, ginger, garlic, and soy. The ramen lane carries Tonkotsu, Barbacoa, Tokyo Shoyu, and Udon Soup; the curry lane carries Butter Chicken, Katsu Curry, Vindaloo, Chana Masala, and Tropical Shrimp Curry. Pork Gyoza, Duck Spring Rolls, Bangkok Fish Cakes, Crab Rangoon Dip, and a Mango Salad open the meal, and a Jerk Chicken Bowl, a Chimichanga, and a Naan Pizza sit further down the list as the cross-cuisine outliers.