In a world where joy is the food of life, and a rollercoaster of flavours is your ticket to enter, Soy and Szechuan – the latest Chinese restaurant in Colombo – opens the door to your very own Chinese carnival; the epitome of a Pan Asian culinary experience. The delivery and take away only restaurant is currently based out of three locations – Colombo 5, Nawala and Mount Lavinia, and will be opening their fourth outlet in Thalawathugoda very soon.
The irresistibility of Pan Asian food lies within the range of mesmerising flavour notes. Their menu sums up the best combinations of pepper, soy, spice, sweet, umami, sour and everything in between. We had the pleasure of trying out an extensive array of dishes from their menu. We went with a selection of Burnt Garlic Egg Fried Rice, Szechuan Style Chicken Fried Rice and Szechuan Style Prawn Fried Noodles as our carbs and in true Asian fashion we also picked a few meaty side dishes to accompany it. We had some of their specialties: Szechuan Chicken and Manchurian Chicken, some Sri Lankan staples like Hot Butter Cuttlefish and Prawns in Chilli Oil and Spring Onions as well as some Stir Fried Green Beans and Garlic Kankun as our veggies.
Before we go into detail; we must note that everything was absolutely amazing and we had almost nothing to critique; everything was incredibly flavourful and surprisingly enough, unlike most traditional (Sri Lankan) Chinese restaurants, there was more flavour than simply soy sauce (No, the soy in their name does not promote overuse of soy sauce). For those who haven’t been; it is truly reminiscent of an Asian street food market.
Since the cooking styles are quite similar, the Szechuan noodles and rice had similar flavours; except the noodles came with a generous load of fresh hot and spicy cooked prawns. Both were heavy on the ginger flavour notes; balanced with the salty taste from the spices and sauces and dressed with just the right amount of julienned vegetables.
Although the two were rich in flavour, the Indo-Chinese fried rice dish made with basmati rice, chicken, mixed vegetables, soy sauce, pepper and lots of garlic was our favourite; there’s nothing like adding some fresh garlic to your rice to work up an appetite – plus it works well with almost any meat cooked in any way. So while the previous two worked well on its own as the meal; the garlic fried rice was perfected by its accompaniments. Speaking of the kankun, it was amazing – mix the two with maybe a dish of mushrooms off their menu and you’d have a satisfying vegetarian meal. The beans too, was a surprisingly good addition; we are not a fan of beans generally, and to be honest, these beans did not change that, but we can affirm that these salty snacks were not too bad.
Moving on to our personal favourite; the Prawns in Hot Chilli Sauce. Now while we did say the noodles could be eaten alone, we didn’t say it should, as there is no such thing as two many prawns (unless you’re allergic, which I am but they were worth having to take an allergy pill for).
On to the chicken, which generally we shy away from ordering because we personally believe it’s the weakest meat in terms of flavour. But we also believe that the right marinade, spices and sauces can make a world of difference to an otherwise bland dish. While the Szechuan Chicken was good, the Manchurian Chicken was where it’s at! This chicken dish is marinated and cooked in a sauce that has a mix of eclectic flavours; Umami flavours from the soy sauce and vinegar, the spicy notes from the red chilli, sour connotations from the ginger root, savoury elements from the garlic and toasted sesame oil with the subtle sweetness at the end give your tastebuds an unforgettable experience; truly an explosion of flavours as promised. If you want to mix cuisines a little and have some fun with your food, this would be amazing with some roast paan – try it out, you won’t be disappointed.
Confession: we had the cuttlefish just as it was – just looking at it sitting there, dressed in spices, it was so tantalising, we couldn’t wait for an appropriate meal time. We can recommend it as just a snack or a bite with some drinks after a stressful day – literally the perfect way to unwind.
If you think your palate is ready to take on this rollercoaster of flavours, head on over to their Instagram or Uber Eats and indulge.
Instagram: soyandszechuan
