Name: Soos
Neighbourhood: Ossington
Contact Info: 94 Ossington St., 416-901-7667, facebook.com
Owners: Zenn, Tricia, Lauren and Zack Soo
Chefs: Tricia Soo and her son, Zack Soo
The Food: Malaysian small plates. The short menu includes traditional Malay street food, like a pad Thai–style noodle dish called char kway teow, as well as less conventional options, like pork belly pancakes and poutine topped with beef rendang, a popular Malaysian curry.
The Drinks: Cocktails spiked with lemongrass, guava and kaffir lime.
The Place : A sleek, contemporary space with nods to East-Asian culture, including spiky rambutan-shaped light fixtures and a pair of antique Chinese dragons overseeing the private dining nook.
The Numbers:
• 15 years in the Malaysian food business
• $15 for the most expensive dish: seafood antipasto with prawns, scallops and calamari
• 12 seats in the private dining nook (named The Malacca Room, after the Portuguese colony)
• 3 takes on the old-fashioned: the Popped Cherry, the Lemon Squeeze and the Nut Cracker
• 2 photos of orangutans, which are indigenous to Malaysia
239997 Soos is located in the middle of the Ossington strip, where bistro Paramour once stood (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a001-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a001.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a001.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a001/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a001 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
239998 (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a002-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a002.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a002.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a002/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a002 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
239999 The “S” in “Soos” was salvaged from an old Roots sign (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a003-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a003.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a003.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a003/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a003 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240000 The light fixtures are shaped like rambutan...or Koosh balls (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a004-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a004.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a004.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a004/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a004 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240001 The private dining nook (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a005-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a005.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a005.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a005/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a005 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240002 Seafood antipasto with jumbo prawns, scallops, calamari, charred eggplant and <em>acar,</em> a type of Malaysian pickle made with carrots and cabbage ($15) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a006-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a006.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a006.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a006/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a006 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240003 (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a007-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a007.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a007.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a007/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a007 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240004 <em>Char kway teow,</em> a noodle dish with tiger prawns, beansprouts and eggs ($15) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a008-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a008.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a008.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a008/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a008 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240005 Rendang beef poutine with lemongrass, coconut gravy and cheese curds ($11) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a009-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a009.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-a009.jpg 1000 668 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-a009/ soos-toronto-restaurant-a009 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240006 Soy-glazed pork belly with napa cabbage and taro root pancakes ($10) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b001-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b001.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b001.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-b001/ soos-toronto-restaurant-b001 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240007 Ella Rice: gin, Lillet, cassis, and lemon juice ($12) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b002-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b002.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b002.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-b002/ soos-toronto-restaurant-b002 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240008 Ula: lemongrass-infused vodka, elderflower liqueur, rhubarb bitters and soda ($11) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b003-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b003.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b003.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-b003/ soos-toronto-restaurant-b003 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
240009 Popped Cherry Old Fashioned: rum, orange zest, cherry bitters and cherries ($13) (Image: Caroline Aksich) Introducing: Soos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b004-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b004.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/soos-toronto-restaurant-b004.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/food/soos-toronto-restaurants/slide/soos-toronto-restaurant-b004/ soos-toronto-restaurant-b004 0 0
(Image: Caroline Aksich)
Was super excited to hear a new M’sian joint opening up on one of my fav street for good eats (yay!!)… then I saw this post and some of the preview of the ‘street food’ that are available on the menu. I thought the fusion idea such as Rendang Beef Poutine was interesting.. even my mom would be impressed who makes [email protected] M’sian dishes. What turned me right off was the portion and the $$$!! What is going on? I was picturing the good ol’ pasar malam where the choices and portions are plenty with reasonable prices so that you can really have the experience of trying out lots of dishes.
Sigh, I hope if you do serve roti, please don’t charge $2 for a piece of taco size dough. And hopefully…. your belachan is homemade (fingers crossed).
Not interested in fusion style Malaysian food. What we need is some real, authentic Malaysian food. “Paid thai style” noodles. Obviously, the reviewer knows nothing of Malaysian chau kuay teow, which isn’t surprising. Thai food is everywhere. Very few people know of authentic Malaysian food.