HLFD in TO: Villa Malaysia

"Hey, I'm hungry.  Do you feel like Singaporean food?" My friend asked me when I was visiting Toronto.  As always, I'm ready to eat any food. She took me to Villa Malaysia, a new restaurant by the owners of local popular restaurant, Restoran Malaysia.  Singaporean and Malaysian foods are very similar due to their close geographical proximity and large Malay population in Singapore.

The restaurant was hidden (to us) amongst the big box retail stores and office parks in Richmond Hill (a suburb just north of Toronto).  I'm usually hesitant to dine amongst TGI Friday-like restaurants (maybe because in NYC, Times Square is a vast wasteland of good eats).  But since my friend grew up in Singapore, I trusted her judgment and checked my prejudices at the door.

There's nothing like a free mocktail to whet our appetites!  The restaurant was offering a grand opening special of complimentary mocktails.  We opted for the Mango CocoShakes (normally $6.84 CAD) that had mango pulp, mango juice, and coconut milk.  I expected the drink to be really sweet, but it wasn't.  It was very light and icy.

Ngoh Hiang ($10 CAD):  A Nonya specialty with chopped chicken, shrimp, chestnut, crab meat, and spices all wrapped in soy skin.  Nonya cuisine mixes Chinese and Malay cultures.  The Ngoh Hiang is basically a deep fried meat roll and tastes better than your typical crispy spring roll.

Nasi Kunyit ($9 CAD):  Turmeric glutinous rice with beef rendang.  This was my favorite dish!  The beef rendang has flavors of coconut while the rice is sticky and balances with the beef.  

Roti with Chicken curry special ($15 CAD):  The roti was large, fairly light, and not too dense while the chicken curry was flavorful but not that spicy.  The dish tasted pretty good, but had I known that it cost $15 (it was a daily special), I probably wouldn't have ordered it.  To me, roti and curry is an appetizer (which I've enjoyed in NYC for under $3!) and though this portion was a little larger than some appetizers, it stilled seemed pricey to me.

Mee Goring ($15 CAD): This stir-fry noodles with shrimp, egg, and vegetables looks similar to a dish of Pad Thai (by the way, I loved the angular bowl!).  My friend told me that this dish is Singaporean street food.  I found this dish to be less sweet than a Pad Thai dish, but just as spicy!

Overall I found some of the dishes pricey for what they are, but did enjoy the flavors of most.  We definitely ordered one too many dishes for the two of us!

Villa Malaysia is located at 140 York Blvd. in Richmond Hill, ON (just north of Toronto).