Sooda Korean BBQ in Burnaby

Food Quality
Atmosphere / Services
Reasonable Priced
Summary

Sooda Korean BBQ in Burnaby. The food served here is kind of like the new type of Korean food served at Tabom Korean BBQ. One of the main differences between this type of Korean food from its traditional counterpart is the use of cheese and corn on the BBQ plate. Sooda Korean BBQ is located on Lougheed Highway near Willingdon Avenue in Burnaby.

Strength: Interesting new style Korean BBQ Restaurant

Weakness: My water cup is a little greasy

Other Korean Restaurants

• Bukjang Korean Cuisine (3.5 Stars)
• Potters Garden (3.5 Stars)
• Kimbab Cheonguk (4.5 Stars)

Exterior of Sooda Korean BBQ

We came to Sooda Korean BBQ on a day with heavy rain. Luckily they have an underground parking lot with the entrance on the side of the building. The man-door exit of the parking lot is only 2 storefronts away. There is plenty of overhang coverage to protect the pedestrian from getting wet. From the exterior, Sooda looks quite modern, but they pulled down the blinds half-way to make it hard to see what’s happening inside.

Interior uses bold color

The interior has a bold use of colors such as red, dark gray, wood, and stainless steel. There are two interesting things I’ve noticed. The open kitchen concept where you can smell the beautiful aroma of what’s being cooked. The open ceiling concept allow you to see some of the paintings displayed on the second floor. If you look closely, there is a paint of a zebra above the kitchen exhaust.

Tap water doesn’t look clean

Sooda Korean BBQ does not provide a water bottle as many Korean restaurants do. The server asked if we wanted tea or water. The water arrived is clearly tap water from the taste. Upon closer examination, I can see a layer of grease on top with some impurities.

Unconventional side dish

There are 3 sides that come with the order. The bean sprout and sweet yam are pretty typical in Korean restaurants. However, the third dish took us by surprise. When we thought it would be kimchi, the Korean preserved cabbage, this is actually plain cabbage with sauce.

Flavoured cabbages

The cabbages are accompanied by chives and sesame seeds. There are bits of red dots that looks like chili bits, and the majority of the flavour comes from the sauce. I cannot denote what they are, but flavours were nicely balanced. Crispy cabbage was refreshing.

Complimentary green Bean soup

Our meal also comes with a simple bean sprout soup. There are some green onions on top. The soup is nothing fancy. It’s just flavoured water but it was simple and clean. I like the texture of the bean sprout. They are sturdy and crunchy, unlike some bean sprouts that look large because of its water content.

Special Dakgalbi (chicken BBQ with rice cake) $37.95

Sooda Korean BBQ is famous for its special hot plate dish like this one. The plate includes rice, omelet, corn, cheese, and your choice of meat. It is interesting that they hide the induction oven beneath the table. The hot plate gets heated through the table and the silicone table protector.

Good color and nicely layered

The special hot plate dish was very colorful with a large portion. This plate can feed about 3 people so the $37.95 price tag is actually not too bad. The meat with rice cake is marinated with Korean hot sauce with onion and jalapeno pepper bits. It has good flavour and the meat has reasonable moist. This dish is pre-cooked in the kitchen before placed on the hot plate.

Rice cake goes well with the cheese

Our rice cake was cooked to a perfect chewiness. We dipped it to the bubbly cheese make the flavour more complex. There are drizzles of mayonnaise on top of the corn. Eventually, they get inside the corn from the rear to make the corn even sweeter.

Korean omelet with interesting toppings

Each hot plate dish comes with 4 pieces of this Korean omelet. The toppings are very different from what I am used to. We have sausage bits, some carrots, chopped vegetables. They have a nice firm texture, that goes very well with the sliced green onions on the side.

Cheese with charred bottom

The staff came to help us stir the cheese because they were about to be burnt. The almost over-cooked cheese still has a very good texture. They become hard and chewy. The cheese flavour becomes more concentrated.

604 Food Critic Assessment

Sooda Korean BBQ serves traditional Korean food alongside the newer type of Korean food. Their special hot plate dish can be enjoyed individually or mixed. the $20 per person price point isn’t too expensive compared to other similar Korean food restaurants. They have plenty of parking and the location is close to the Brentwood Skytrain station. If you don’t want to drive all the way to Coquitlam to enjoy good Korean food, Sooda Korean BBQ can be a good option for you.

Menu

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How to get in touch

• Phone: (604) 428-9227
• Address: 4455 Lougheed Hwy, Burnaby
• Hours: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm, Closed on Sunday