Coimbatore’s Little Soi adds much loved Asian street food delicacies to the new menu

A platter of dreamy, translucent, pink dim sum vies for my attention at the table as I go over the revamped menu at Little Soi, a Pan-Asian restaurant on Avinashi Road. What follows is a cheesy, creamy explosion in my mouth as I bite into the dumplings filled with tender edamame infused with rich truffle oil lending it an umami goodness. “That is our best seller,” declares Te Yuan Peter Tseng, culinary director of Pricol Gourmet who is at Little Soi to oversee the new menu, adding that the cream cheese and edamame come together beautifully. “The wrap, made using a particular starch mix turns translucent when baked.”

Sushi platter
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Special Arrangement

As I enjoy a hearty suan la soup with mushrooms and chicken cooked in flavourful sour and spicy broth (‘suan la’ in Cantonese means sour and spicy) and served with wonton crispies, I am also eyeing Indonesian mushroom satays where juicy, smoky mushrooms marinated in sambal sauce meet the fiery, tangy, and umami-rich chili sambal. While the plate of chicken and leek gyoza dumplings is fairly simple, plain meat with sincere tastes and flavours, the typhoon shelter prawns bring together bold spices and aromas, with a crunch.

“We don’t complicate flavours. The fusion is simple, where flavours complement each other. Typhoon shrimps are popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Deep fried prawns coated in tempura batter are stir fried with crispy garlic, fermented black beans sauce, and spices. Asian street food also features radish cake, a dry stir fry delicacy. Then there is jasmine prawns, where flavoured oil soaks up the prawns and the crunchiness comes from a crispy garnish of garlic or onions,” he explains.

chicken tsukune
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Special Arrangement

Over bang bang cauliflower, an American-Chinese take on dynamite prawns, featuring crispy fried cauliflower florets tossed in creamy sauce and topped with toasted sesame and peanut, Te Yuan says the vibe at Little Soi is comfort and casual, offering a variety fare of Asian street food. “You have the food coming to you in stainless steel plates to complete the street style experience. We often travel and try food at various food stalls across Southeast Asia to understand the flavours. Replicating it takes a lot of time. The street food hawkers there have been doing it for many generations. The working class in Thailand and Bangkok have meagre income and very less time. For lunch, they just have a fried omelette, rice, and the sauce. They have a variety of dipping sauces, for example gyoza sauce is made with soy and ginger,” he explains.

Typhoon shelter prawns
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Special Arrangement

Some of the new additions in the menu include soi polo chicken, the iconic Bangkok fried chicken. “Japanese food is a big hit in Coimbatore. People here love the sushi,” he says adding that the buldak chicken ramen, and the Japanese Mizo ramen are also much loved.

For the main course, it is chicken tsukune, the Japanese chicken dumpling served on two skewers, truffle fried rice and poached egg. When mixed together, it makes for comfort bowl. The signature Thai omelette seasoned with Sriracha sauce is wholesome with the crisp exterior giving way to soft insides making for meaty bites.

“You can add variations to it by adding chicken mince, and crab meat. Dim sum is well received. Though there are different varieties of laksa, we have added the nyonya laksa made with coconut milk as it suits the palate here. We curate the menu paying attention to such details,” he says adding that they have removed as many as 20 to 30 dishes from the old menu, which has been challenging. “Pork has been taken off the menu. There is a good selection of vegetarian food with bok choy, mushrooms, water chestnuts, lotus root, and also jackfruit. The food scene in Coimbatore is constantly evolving. There are niche places serving Japanese and Italian cuisines. There’s a boom in restobars. Its just a matter of time, when speciality cuisine takes over. We have to constantly innovate to stay on top of the game. Once every three months, we plan a festival, something new to keep diners coming back. It matters,” he adds.

Matcha brownie
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Special Arrangement

I round off the meal with match brownie and vanilla ice cream. The fudgy-gooey delight with white chocolate chunks, brings together not just matcha flavours, but also instant happiness.

A meal for two costs ₹1100 approximately. For details, call 7548811777