Being invited to a newly opened restaurant is such a pleasure. We were so excited to try this Asian place in Deira.

We were greeted at Soy & Pepper by their lovely Manager, Ms Teresa and her very nice staff.

They are located inside Reef Mall just next to Dome Cafe; as you approach you will see a LCD hanging on the wall displaying a variety of the dishes on offer, cooked up by Chef Jeff who puts his own twists on traditional Asian cuisine.

When me and my dining partner sat down the first thing we ordered were the drinks.  We decided to go for one peach and one lemon ice tea.  Both tasted fine just as you’d expect, with some nice fresh fruit included on the glass.

For our first starter, we decided to go for their Tom Yum soup which was very tasty with a spicy and sour kick.  Traditional Thai fare, boosted further with their special condiment mix of garlic and chili.

After our palettes had been cleansed by the soup we decided to go for Thai Cashew Salad.  It was just as fresh as it looked on the Menu, with crunchy veg, cashew and that spicy kick that all good Thai salads should have.  Even my partner, who is not normally a big fan of capsicum (bell pepper), loved this one.

Once we finished our salad it was time for the mains.

Our first main course was Chicken Sisig – a twist on the popular Filipino dish using chicken instead of pork. The Sisig was very nice and the twist of using chicken worked surprisingly well. It arrived sizzling in a traditional style with a raw egg on top that cooked as you sat.  The chicken was cooked just right and the rice complimented it perfectly.

We also ordered Beef and Brocolli, more of a Chinese style dish. The Beef and Brocolli was also very tasty and reminded us of a meal that you can get at PF Changs (a compliment for sure!) both dishes were a good size and certainly filled the two of us.

Once our mains were finished we decided to order some desserts; we went for the Leche flan (creme caramel) and Ube topped with shredded butter.

The Leche flan was very nice with a special syrup on top giving it a unique flavour.  Even if we were pretty full by this point, we still managed to finish it, as well as the Ube which had that lovely traditional taste that all Filipinos would expect!

After our meal we met the lovely Chef  Jeff who gave us further insight about the dishes and how he put his own twist on them.  You could really get a feel for his passion and I can’t wait to see how the other dishes on the menu taste.

Throughout our dining experience with Soy and Pepper we were treated very well by professional and friendly staff.  The dishes were familiar with a cute twist.

Perhaps the best things about this place are the great value for money, the fresh ingredients, talented cookery and great service.

So if you have a free evening or want to impress a friend with a good cheap eat, why not head over to Reef Mall and check them out?!  if they get the “bums on seats” they deserve it could be very exciting to see them expand through the Emirate and beyond!

My thanks once again to Ms Teresa, Chef Jeff and their team for a wonderful experience at Soy and Pepper.