Fat Choi revisited in 2024 (Toronto)


Vegetarians rejoice, you’re no longer restricted to Monday and Tuesdays for eating at Fat Choi, the plant-based menu run within Soos restaurant. So go ahead, make a weekend plan to dig into some flavourful Asian creations.

They even started offering a six-course tasting menu ($55 per person) allowing the table to sample 60% of their offerings. It started with some scrumptious cakes ($14; normally 4 to an order), a soft steamed rice cake topped with finely chopped preserved radish. Much silkier than radish cake, it’s a cross between that and silken tofu. And while the sweet and salty radish relish was a good start, the dish needed something else (maybe scallions or fried shallots) and more of their famous sambal as I couldn’t taste a lick of heat.

One dish that stood the test of time is the dhal and roti ($14), a deeply flavoured yellow lentil curry topped with onion chili oil. Yet, it’s the flaky Malay roti that really makes the dish – piping hot and well toasted with crispy edges. I could eat this with a dip, as a wrap, or stuffed.

If dining a la carte, it may be wise to order some of the roti with the satay veg ($19), to dip into the thick savoury peanut sauce but also to counteract the saltiness of the dish. Served without a side, the vegetables didn’t need so much seasoning, especially the rapini which almost seemed like it was marinated in salt water. It’d be wise for Fat Choi to serve this with rice.

Plenty of slices of “barbeque pork” seitan are tucked into a fluffy steamed bun to create the char siu bao ($19). It’s tasty, sandwiched with a large slice of pickled daikon, leaf lettuce, and scallion mayo.

We all agreed something has changed with the prosperity tossed slaw ($24). It’s still made with twenty ingredients that create a cacophony of textures, but the ratio of the ingredients has changed – more cabbage and radish and less herbs? Perhaps it just wasn’t dressed with enough of the yuzu plum dressing and way too many peanuts, but the salad just didn’t pack that punch of flavour of the past.

The same can’t be said about the cumin noods ($26). If you’re a fan of Northern Chinese dishes like dan dan noodles, grilled lamb skewers and hand-pulled noodles, the dish is the baby born from the trio. But you must like cumin as there’s tons of it!

Crumbled tofu was flavoured with the spice, a light helping of numbing Szechuan pepper (thank you!), chili oil, and Chinese vinegar to create a spicy and savoury concoction. The flat ribbons of noodles had a lovely springy texture and could hold up against the sauce. Make sure to get a bite with the crunchy celery, scallions, and micro greens as they help balance out the cumin.

While I’m happy to hear Fat Choi’s menu is available all the time, I can’t help but feel it’s not as good as before. Maybe it’s from the kitchen juggling between two menus or that I couldn’t end the meal with a bowl of laksa, my favourite dish from Fat Choi and Soos. Still, at $55 their tasting menu is reasonably priced and satisfying, a win for veggies for sure.

In a nutshell... 
  • Must order: dhal and roti and char siu bao
  • Just skip: prosperity tossed slaw

Overall mark - 7 out of 10


How To Find Them
 Location: Toronto, Canada
 Address: 94 Ossington Avenue


Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System

  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!


Is That It? I Want More!

Other Gastro World posts similar to this: