Strip Mall Gourmet: Get your Malay on at One2 Snacks

This tiny lunch counter dishes out some of the best Malaysian food this side of Kuala Lumpur.

Tucked away in a no man’s land plaza north of Midland and Sheppard, One2Snacks is a family-run lunch counter serving up some of the best Malaysian food in the GTA.

“We’ve always had a passion for Malaysian food,” says co-owner Brian Choy, while carefully packaging a box of desserts for a regular. “My parents love to entertain and cook for guests. Opening this place was a way for us to share that with our customers.” 

Choy manages front of house operations at the takeout counter; his parents cook in the kitchen. The food is scratch cooking using family recipes, highlighting classic Malay dishes. Each spoonful transports you to the streets and kitchens of Kuala Lumpur. On any given day, the tiny restaurant fills up before noon with loyal supporters who have been visiting the spot regularly since it opened.

With few seats (four by the counter, four by the window), a visit needs to be well thought out. So here is what you order.

LAKSA
Their take on curry laksa ($6.30), the classic Malay noodle soup, is easily one of the best we’ve ever had. A generous serving of spicy broth is thickened with coconut milk and doused in spices. The soup comes loaded with shrimp, sprouts, fish balls, tofu puffs and thick pieces of chicken. The coconut milk mellows the spice in each slurp and is followed by flavours of cumin and galangal (ginger’s spicy, perfumy cousin). Add a spoonful of sambal belacan (shrimp paste) to make the flavours jump. Order the laksa with either egg noodles or rice vermicelli — the former are better to soak up the curry goodness in each spoonful.

RICE DISHES
Malaysia’s national dish, nasi lemak (from $4.50), is a must-try. Rice is steamed in coconut milk and served with sambal ikan bilis — spicy baby anchovies — and can be upgraded with a chicken dish of choice. The meal is then finished with peanuts and cucumber. Give it a good mix to blend the curry, spicy, salty and crunchy elements together.

KUALA LUMPUR-STYLE NOODLES
The standout dry dish is the char kway teow ($6.30); it’s reminiscent of what you’d find at KL’s bustling hawker stalls. Rice noodles are done up to great effect with shrimp, fish cake, scallions and egg.

DESSERTS
It’s worth planning your trip around dessert. Only available come the weekend, it’s a meal highlight that sells out quickly. Up to six desserts may be featured, all classic Malay dishes that are hard to come by in T.O.

Ask Choy to give you a tour of the offerings. Must-try items include the kuih dadar ($1.15), a pandan-flavoured green crepe stuffed with shaved coconut soaked in palm sugar. There’s also kuih angkoo ($1.15), a tortoise shell–shaped pastry with a sweet mung bean filling. Feeling adventurous? Finish with the durian cake ($1.35), made from the meat of durian fruit. Just don’t forget the container in the car.

One2Snacks, 8 Glen Watford Dr., #26, 647-340-7099

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