Soos Resto/Bar [Malaysian]

Soos (@soostoronto) is a family run Malaysian restaurant on Ossington that opened up back in October last year. Kitchen helm by mother and son duo, Tricia and Zack Soo. It specialise in Malay-Nyonya which is Chinese influence Malay cooking

Love the modern decor here with the contrast of the black-white stripe wall on one side and a lantern wallpaper on the other side. And let's not forget the huge spiky light.

Love The Malacca Room at the back.

Pork Belly Pancakes $11

~ organic pork belly, sticky soy reduction, Chinese five spice, taro root, spring onion

Love that the pork belly was not overly tender or soft which left with a crispy fatty edges and still melt in your mouth good int he middle. Sticky thick soy reduction was just finger licking good which is like a Chinese equivalent of a super good BBQ sauce. Love the taro root pancake instead of the standard potato which had a crunchier chewier texture that I love.

Reconstructed Nasi Lemak $11

~ crispy coconut rice, sambai ikan bilis, cucumber, fried quail egg

Isn't this super cute with the tiny quail egg and doesn't everything taste better with an egg on top. Warning tough, the rice below was not  meant to be hold and yes it will fall apart. This was my fave dish of the night, love the perfectly cook coconut rice which was perfect with the salty spicy anchovies sambai w/ the crunchy peanuts and the pop of freshness of the cucumber.

Pulled Kapitan Tacos $8

~ chicken kapitan, house made "taco", napa carrot slaw, johnny's tzatziki

The taco here was more like a pancake than a taco which is softer and thicker. Love the flavorful curry here but though the chicken itself was on the dry side (chicken breast?!). The slaw and tzatziki was very refreshing along the curry.

 Char Kway Teow $16

~ tiger prawn, chives, sambai, beansprout, egg drop, charred rice fettuccine

This is the probably the most expensive char kway teow I have ever had and the presentation doesn't help, it look rather black. But that aside, it was really delicious and very good "wok air" 鑊氣.

 

 Laksa $17

~ chicken, prawn, tofu ball, galangal, mee, vermicelli, curry broth

 Laksa is a spicy curry noodle soup which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements serve throughout Malaysia and Singapore. Love the rich creamy coconut curry broth or should I sauce sauce and love that it's served in a cute little clay pot. Although I wish it was a tad spicier, it was one of the best laksa I had in Toronto. Also love the added tofu puff which absorb all the flavors and which a lot of other restaurant tends to omit. No need to choose between chicken and shrimp here, there was both.

 I always look for a combination of vermicelli and thick yellow noodle in my laksa.

I am always skeptical about Asian cuisine with a twist since most Asian fusion tend to be major confusion to me and that's the main reason I haven't been to Soos until now. But here, it's rather a modern take on Malaysian food than fusion.

 

Verdict :

Would love to come back to try the rest of the menu and maybe some of their cocktail (saw the teapot shots somewhere which sounds really interesting)

Love the small plates which allowed us to try more dishes even if it was just the 2 of us.

 Not your authentic or traditional Malaysian cuisine but delicious nonetheless