I recently revisited Kaya Malay Bistro – located just off Oak and West Broadway. I brought along my parents since they were a bit disappointed with another Malaysian place they recently went to (which will remain nameless!).

The best thing about Kaya is that their lunch specials are under $10 and the staff is attentive and always suggesting items to try. I thought we were ordering dishes of our own, but we ended up sharing everything – which was fine with me. We ordered chicken and beef satay but they were literally gone in 60 seconds by my parents that I didn’t manage to snap a picture.

What I did manage to snap are the following…

The Soft Shell Crab ($20). I came here with co-workers a couple weeks back and had this and for some odd reason thought that my dad would absolutely love this peppery dish. He sure did. I think he could’ve polished it off himself. Soft shell crab is a little more exotic for some people, but I would definitely encourage you to try it out – they have a smaller, appetizer version, so try that instead!

The Tofu Goreng ($6). One of their specialties. It’s vegetarian, a tofu stuffed with vegetables and sprinkled with peanuts. The deep fried tofu appealed to my parents and the crunchy consistency appealed to me.

You can also order a drink to go with your lunch special for just $2 more, today I had the Passionfruit Soda. It was very refreshing.

My mom ordered the Pad Thai (yes, I know it’s Thai food and not Malaysian) – and it was great. I loved the fresh taste of tamarind in the sauce.

My dad ordered the Char Kuey Teow ($9) – which is similar to the Chinese flat rice noodle with soy and bean sprouts. He definitely enjoyed this, it wasn’t too greasy either which I appreciated.

I ordered the Rendang Beef ($8) – but I was far too stuffed to even touch it. My mom ended up eating it and she liked it.

To finish off our meal, they suggested we try the warm Mango Durian puff ($7). Durian?! Well…I can’t say I hate it, but I can’t say I like it. We thought to ourselves, why not! And we were told that it would take 15-20 minutes to make, since it’s made fresh. We didn’t mind since we had no place to go afterwards. The puff was delightfully flakey and surprisingly, the mango and durian flavour mixed quite well with one another and was delicious.I definitely think that I’ve made my parents believers and since they live so close, they want to come back again for dinner. I can’t wait!

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Visit their website and menu here

Kaya Malay Bistro on Urbanspoon