Chennai's Soy Soi returns with a new look and bold Asian flavours

CHENNAI: Even as it was new to the city, back in 2017, Soy Soi was not just another Asian restaurant. It became an instant hit among the gastronomic circles for its bold flavours, authentic style and cosy ambience. But a lot of hard work and research went behind crafting a unique menu that is true to its roots. The culinary team embarked on a food trip to regions like Singapore, Bali, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Jakarta and Bangkok. “The primary aim was to give equal importance to all the southeast Asian cuisines like Thai, Singaporean, Burmese and Malaysian, among others,” says the brand chef Rajat Gurung, who has been associated with the diner for the past three years.

After eight years, the team of Soy Soi decided to give a new touch to the diner by relaunching the menu, ambience and idea. The doors of the diner were closed for more than two months to undergo the makeover. “We have renovated the restaurant with new paintings, artefacts, imported crockeries and also broadened the scope of our culinary space,” the chef adds.

With the patrons revisiting quite often, the team has not revamp the menu completely. They have retained a few classics and customers’ favourites like pad thai, satays, curries and the Japanese cheesecake. “We wanted to jump towards Japanese and Korean cuisines. However, we didn’t want to deviate from our primary focus of being a cuisine-centric restaurant as well,” Rajat shares.

Talking about the city that is upping its culinary game, the chef remarks, “A few years ago, there were only five to six oriental restaurants. But now the number has increased, and the game of Asian cuisine is amplified a lot.”

As we enter the 90-seater Soy Soi located on the busy lanes of Kotturpuram, we have been transported to an authentic oriental kitchen. The dim lights, spacious seating arrangements and premium crockeries were quite welcoming. Though it was a weekday, the diner was packed for lunch, and we found a private dining space and tucked ourselves there. To dilute the scorching heat of Chennai, we started with soft Thai fashion, filled with mint leaves, kaffir lemon leaf, ginger and sprite juice. The sushi we tried here was one of the best in recent times. The crispy spicy avocado sushi roll, accompanied with soy sauce, is a must-try.

For those who wish to indulge in flavourful Malay cuisine, we recommend the karipap, mini curry puffs filled with vegetable curry. It’s deep-fried and relished with Malay potato curry. Not many like the raw taste of avocado. But the avocado carpaccio, with its unique flavours, will take over them as well.

In the non-vegetarian options, grilled lamb chops marinated with herbs, garlic, and miso sauce, called the lamb dengaku, were good flavour-wise. But the meat was quite tough. Two dishes that were distinctively great were the eggplant aka miso, and wild mushroom gyoza. Among them, the gyoza aced the list.

In the main course, the flaky parotta and Malaysian chicken curry were appetising, and the coconut milk elevated the dish. In the desserts, the iconic Japanese cheesecake was served. We felt that the cake couldn’t have been softer.

Overall, if you wish to try different flavours of the oriental cuisine in its true essence, Soy Soi should be on your list.