Sarah N.
Yelp
Nostalgic!
Soon's is one of my top childhood spots, for sure. Having their food was probably the highlight of growing up in the ghettos of Red Hill lol. I remember being in high school and casually making my way to Soon's during lunchtime just to satisfy my cravings haha! Of course, times have changed, and tho Soon's is still held dear to my heart, it just doesn't hit like it used to.
Consistency is crucial to me. Unfortunately, there's been times in the past few years that I've gotten my food and it seemed like it was premade. The meat jhun also lost the soft & tender bite it once had, but the flavor is still there. Now, pieces are often smashed REALLY REALLY thin, leaving a tough chew and - c'mon, meat jhun shouldn't be hard, in general.
The mandoo has changed over the years as well. What was once a big, round, plump dumpling is now the usual flat, half moon shaped version. These are definitely more crunchy and evenly cooked, so this change is one I can appreciate!
Bbq flavors are good... the bbq chicken and kalbi marinade is extra savory and lightly sweet - perfect accompaniment to the popular meat jhun. Today's lunch was yummy, but again, it seemed like my food was premade, so it wasn't hot or juicy like I'm used to. I know they can get pretty busy, so I'm assuming the way they keep up is by par cooking or precooking in batches (?) Not sure, I can only speculate... :(
Lastly, the price! This remains one of those CASH ONLY spots. If you're not an ASB member, consider yourself $4.95 in the hole while grabbing cash outta the nearby ATM. If you don't mind a longer walk, I believe there's a BOH ATM inside of Safeway. Average cost of the plate lunches are $15-25.