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.

I remember when two decades ago being able to tuck into a bowl of fresh noodles was rare. Flash forward to now and hand-pulled noodles are everywhere, restaurants with glass kitchens showcasing a chef who stretches a palm of dough into stringy delights. At First Markham Place, Gol's Lanzhou Noodle offers a staggering nine thicknesses in an airy ornate dining room.

The small portion of their traditional Langzhou hand-pulled noodles ($14.99) was satisfying, but for the hungry, an extra $2 buys you a much larger bowl. Opting for the #3 thickness, which the waiter noted was “regular”, I would consider going down a size as there was a slight sticky afterbite that could be mitigated by a thinner noodle - even though the pasta had a pleasant preliminary mouthful and requisite springy texture.

Aside from the noodle width, diners can also customize the spiciness level and whether it’s garnished with green onion and cilantro (a must in my books to add some freshness to the bowl). Given the northern provinces of China can handle heat, we went with a light spiciness and was presented with something that looked spicy but really had an aromatic quality without the zing.

In retrospect, I could likely handle the regular spiciness as there’s always the option to ask for more broth to dilute the heat. In fact, they seemed very accommodating with any table that just wanted an extra bowl of the soup.

The slices of beef were cut thinly and given it wasn’t overly seasoned became lost amongst the starch and soup. Oh well, I guess the protein isn’t an important factor when it comes to hand-pulled noodles.

With the Langzhou beef chow mein ($15.99), they recommended a thickness between #3 to #5 for the dish. The #5 was too thick and al dante for my tastes, probably #3 would have been just right. Nonetheless, the stir-fried noodles had great wok hay despite there being a scant portion of vegetables and beef.

Perhaps Gol’s most surprising feature was their service: abundantly staffed and extremely attentive… I certainly felt well looked after! They are also expanding quickly through franchising with locations in Waterloo, Montreal, and Winnipeg. One thing’s for sure, it’s no longer difficult to find fresh-made noodles in Canada, so get ready to be pulled in.