So-Ju Chikn' — Restaurant in Melbourne

Where do I even begin ! Me and my partner went in here not expecting much of anything. Ohhh boy was we wrong! In sooo many Juicy crispy ways! We was greeted by Gabriel, who was very patient and outstanding while we were trying to decide what to try.He 💯 made us feel like we belonged, felt like a famous food critic with the outstanding customer service he gave us.He brought us samples of all the sauces they make in house so we had a chance to try them for next time, he also hooked us up with a sample of spicy daikon that will soon be on the menu! We definitely will be ordering it once it’s available! If you thought it couldn’t get any better he then topped that off with bringing me and my partner a sample of the cheesecake churro on him ! That guy deserves a raise! Because of him alone we will be back. Let’s start talking a bout this food now. My Parter got the 5 Drumstick spicy garlic soy meal and a side of dumplings.The chicken alone was a bang for the buck with how jumbo they are. The Flavoring of the Spicy soy garlic made both of our taste buds dance in excitement with the level of spice it had but most importantly the Flavor of the sauce ( all sauces are made in house !!) even with the sauce on it there wasn’t one part of soggy skin. The Skin was perfectly Crispy the whole time! To wash it down she got the green apple with mango popper Boba. Gabriel mixed that up to perfection! Now onto my food , first off my drink of choice was the Dragon fruit Boba with mango poppers .mmmmm that paired perfectly with my food of choice . I got the sweet N sour Pork ribs ( they come with the sauce on the side and a small bone) honestly first bite was without the sauce because I wanted to see how they was on their own and honestly I enjoyed them but something for sure was missing and that’s when I dipped it into the amazing house made sweet and sour sauce that made them go from a 4.2 to 8.98 instantly the crispy fried rib and sauce paired soo perfectly I couldn’t stop taking bite after bite, then I went onto my second entry what was the Pork Belly Fried Rice with a fried egg on-top . That pork belly was soo flavorful and cooked to perfection that melts inside your mouth the pairing of the pork belly and the way the fried rice was cooked and prepared was instantly a 9.2 then I took another bite and it moved up to a 9.6.i had to stop myself from eating the whole thing with how good it was. we 100% will be back this place is a hidden gem. If you haven’t been yet STOP what your doing and GO now! The food was soo good we had to stop ourself from eating it all so we could take a picture for...

So-Ju Chikn- Melbourne, FL- 4 Stars

“In the restaurant business, you not only serve the community but serve it with taste.” – Anonymous

Hmm, I thought as I re-read the name peering up at me from my random name generator. This doesn't bode well. It seems my device is sending me to yet another joint owned by Tony N. of Senzu Noodle Bar fame. Leery of trying anything from this guy's kitchen after the horrid swill offered at Senzu, I put my Big Boy pants on and decided to take one for the team (if I had to).

This place still has that new restaurant smell and the interior is spotlessly clean. Unlike, Senzu, so-Ju Chikn is co-owned with his brother Hung. I placed an order for a 2 piece tender meal and a Beef Bulgogi bowl. My waitress for the meal was Mary Ann. I found Mary Ann to be quite charming and a delight compared to the obnoxious Zoomer at Senzu.

Mary Ann was soon seen heading back with my order and I readied myself for good or ill! The first thing up was a bite of what appeared to be perfectly fried chicken tenders. Yep, they were indeed fried to perfection. They were tender and juicy on the inside with a light golden coating that packed just the right amount of crunch. As far as I could discern, the So-Ju secret dry-rub appears to be naught but salt and MSG (the same can be said of Kentucky Fried Chicken's Secret Herbs and Spices, though they also add pepper to the mix). Regardless, it was exceedingly flavorful on the palate. I truly enjoyed this chicken

The Beef Bulgogi bowl was filled to the top with fresh lettuce and Daikon. The Kimchi that accompanied it while nothing to write home about, was certainly nothing to sneeze at either. It was fresh and tasty. The base of steamed rice was prepared to immaculateness. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how wonderfully flavorful the pickled Daikon was. Daikon is pretty much tasteless and this preparation added some real flavor and an impressive taste to the vegetable.

I am not sure if Brother Hung is the difference but this meal was very good and I recommend you try it. Big boy says, “Avoid the owner but worship the food.”...

First off, beautiful presentation. The plate looked very well dressed and pleasing. I regret not taking a picture. I had the chicken sandwich and my girlfriend had the fries with chicken. Initially she was under the impression that the chicken on top of the fries would be fried due to the picture on the menu.(edit: picture on the menu is fries with kimchi topped with an egg) It turns out it was chicken Bulgogi. The chicken sandwich was very breaded very fried and super overloaded with sweet sauce. I like sauce on a sandwich, but the overwhelming amount was a little much. it was overpowering and took a lot of the flavor away from everything else. It was very fresh, but you could taste the fryer in the breading. The chicken Bulgogi fries had a great flavor, but again it seemed like it was just fries with a ton of sauce all over them. There was a lot of fries and not more than three or four pieces of chicken. The flavor was good, but more chicken would have been nice. I don’t feel like the prices that they demand, fits the amount that we were served. To touch on a bit of customer service aspect, the prices demanded were not those of self service. Forks, knives and sauces were at a self service station. For the price paid, I feel as though the person bringing your food should also pair it with a fork and knife. Additionally, having to throw away my own trash is also not in line with the price point. A few changes to their customer service and the prices would be justified. We were there on a Saturday afternoon and inside the dining area was very hot compared to other restaurants.(edit:being fixed at the time of the review) A few tweaks to their brand would make this an awesome experience unfortunately, the customer service aspect, and the over sauced food took some points away for me. Pros Presentation, atmosphere Cons Too expensive for the area and the type of food, self service station not applicable to price point, food is very oversauced, air conditioner not working or set too high (update: ac is being worked on and will...