re: Finally got around to trying Soji (Review) - UPDATE (WENT BACK - BAD)

So I had such a good experience at Soji last week that a friend of mine from California (who is a ramen fan) wanted to try it. I met him for lunch yesterday and after the meal we had, I probably won't be going back for a long time, if ever.

I preface all of this by saying the restaurant was clean and the service was very good and the waiter friendly and attentive. But the food was such a let down that I left apologizing for the place for telling my buddy it was good.

We started with best thing we ate, which were the ribs. 6 large ribs, super tender, good sauce, and accompanied by pickles, pickled cabbage, and kimchi. We should have stopped there.

We also split the Pork Banh Mi, which sounded delicious, but the sandwich was pretty average. Terrible, soft bread that didn't lend itself well to the fillings, and so much mayo that it was dripping down the sides of the sandwich. And I like mayo, but that's all we could taste. Just a miss and a bland sandwich.

My buddy got the Tonkotsu Ramen. He took a few bites and said "something doesn't taste right." I tried some of the broth and it was terrible. The broth was bland as water, but worse than that there was a horrible chemical-plastic taste to the broth. I don't know where it could have came from but it was inedible. He sent it back and opted not to order anything else.

The "brunch" menu is smaller than their normal menu, so I ordered the "Mall Chinese" and with it came crispy beef, General Tsoji chicken, and fried rice. The fried rice was old, stale, and cold. The chicken was luke-warm, and the cripsy beef was lava hot in temperature. It was all edible, but just average, so I ate without complaining. Takeout from China Express or Oriental Pearl would have smoked this place.

Just a major let down meal, and a restaurant I was so excited to try let me feeling foolish I brought a friend. I probably won't be back until I start hearing better things about Soji.