Woon - Pasadena
Chinese restaurant · Pasadena ·
Chewy noodles, crispy scallion pancakes, pork belly, natural wine
Chewy noodles, crispy scallion pancakes, pork belly, natural wine
"The Pasadena outpost teams with Softies on Thursday, November 20, for “Swofties,” a one-night-only pop-up that will serve sweet and sour shrimp bao, firecracker tots, and more." - Rebecca Roland
"Woon’s second location is an upgrade in size and decor—the wallpaper alone is a feast for the eyes—but the main reason to come here is for the brunch menu that’s only available at their Pasadena spot. Options include chicken congee topped with a tea-marinated egg and pickled daikon, bacon and egg fried rice, and a fried pork chop sandwich with hot mustard on a bolo bun, but just make sure to save a spot for the custardy milk tea french toast." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"Woon’s second location is an upgrade in size and decor—the wallpaper alone is a feast for the eyes—but the main reason to visit is for the brunch menu that’s only available here. Expect chicken congee topped with pickled daikon, a fried pork chop sandwich on a bolo bun, and custardy milk tea french toast as a sweet finale. Aside from the crispy five-spice wings and spicy tofu with a little heat from chili crisp, nothing from the lunch/dinner menu stands out over the original Historic Filipinotown location, but the Pasadena branch is a solid neighborhood option for tea and noodles with reasonable prices and lightning-fast service." - Sylvio Martins
"Keegan Fong opened a second location on East Washington Boulevard in Pasadena just days before the Eaton Fire; the shop temporarily shut down and then reopened on January 18 after utility companies gave the green light. Fong is blunt about the changed business reality: "We can’t rely on the word of mouth we were expecting because so much of Altadena is gone," and reports business consistently down at least 20 percent, prompting heavier reliance on delivery platforms and catering. He reflects on the bittersweet pivot: "I want to host all the locals through this door that I wanted here in the first place, and now I have to accept that we’ll have delivery drivers through the door instead," and adds, "At the same time, we were dealt this hand, so let’s do our best to figure out how to work within it." - Sharon Brenner
"We’ve long been fans of Woon in Historic Flipinotown for a casual meal of chewy stir-fried noodles and scallion pancakes, and the now family-run Chinese restaurant has a second location in Pasadena. The new space is larger and more ornate, with colorful wallpaper depicting imperial palaces and lush landscapes, but you can expect the same menu with hits like braised pork belly and pickled mustard greens over rice and ube ice cream-stuffed fried bao." - cathy park