SoChu House Experience

He Said

After moving from downtown to uptown, the owner of SoChu house transformed a sleepy strip mall into a trendy dinner destination and late night lounge atmosphere. I think our whole party was surprised when we pulled up to the parking lot right along central and south of Indian School. It was by all means the typical Phoenix strip mall complete with a Lenny’s burgers. But through the darkened doors of the SoChu house we went and much to our surprise awaited a well-designed interior with calming lights and a distinct dining room and separated bar area. I was pulled toward the bar area but we decided to have a proper sit down in the dining room. Our server was a little new to the restaurant but he was attentive and got help when he needed someone to describe the many Asian tapas. But he was friendly and always on top of things.

I started with a saketini and they have a page full of them to choose from. I am usually a dirty martini guy but when in an Asian restaurant you have to go with the theme right? It was perfect, not too sweet but strong and cold. It is on my standard drink list now for my return. They had others that looked sweeter if that is what you enjoy most, but I only like a twinge of sweetness if at all. This perfectly fit into my catalog of good solid cocktails.

We began the journey of Asian Tapas and not one would disappoint us, although some were to be favorited for a return trip. The highlights for me were 3 items, but I could talk about so many because they were all enjoyed but I will leave some of it up to the readers delight to discover. First, was the truffle butter edamame. Should I stop there?  I could see some complaining the edamame were too wet with the butter but one taste and you can forgive the chef for leaving your fingers a bit greasy. Just perfect in my opinion, but as my friend Paula might say, everything is better with butter. It had just the right smell and taste without being overpowering with the truffle. Next, we move on to the soup gyoza. You heard me right. It’s a soup in a gyoza. Literally, a pork wonton type soup inside a dumpling. Word of warning; you have to put the whole thing in your mouth at once, and they come out hot! So contain yourself with some edamame and let it cool down, then plop one in your mouth and just enjoy the weird sensation of that dumpling becoming soup. The flavors will bring moans to the table. Lastly, the bacon wrapped lychee nut. Growing up in Miami we had a lychee nut tree in our back yard so I was familiar with them and was interested to see how these tasted wrapped in bacon with a bit of saffron on top. So one by one we all tried one, and one by one we stopped talking, our eyes closed, and smiles came to our faces as we enjoyed the sweet leech and crispy salty bacon combine in our mouth. Simply amazing! Even the garnish and sauce they sat on was enjoyable. I have and will be back again.

She Said

Located in a strip center off Central Ave I was a little apprehensive when we pulled up to Sochu House. As soon as we walked in I thought: Itadakimasu!! (Let’s Eat! in Japanese)  Sochu transforms you into a Mod Japanese sanctuary. The blue-ish lighting fills the dinning room and bar.

About the bar: They serve the full menu in the bar and you have your choice of swanky lounge tables or a stool at the long glowing bar to sit at.

The welcoming hostess let us take a gander around before we decided to sit in the dining room.

About the dining room: Through sheer white curtains a nice sized dining room awaits with white tables and chandeliers hanging from a visually appealing textured ceiling.  They have filled the vacant spaces with décor and art.

Even though our waiter was new he was warm, friendly and willing to go ask any questions we had that he didn’t know the answer to.

The menu has Tapas, Soups, Salads and Entrees. We noticed they had regular and pesto edamame, but we had to go for the goods: Truffle! They have mastered the art of white truffle butter edamame, the perfect amount of truffle flavoring over hot fresh edamame. What a mouthwatering twist on a Japanese staple.

We also ordered the Gyzo Soup Balls. Wow. I mean WOW! They come piping hot so fight the urge to scarf one down. Once cool enough grab one of these dumplings and pop the entire thing in your mouth…no little bites here…the entire thing. Explosion! Delicious pork and cabbage soup literally bursts into your mouth as the dumpling slowly dissolves as you chew. A perfect food. It is a flavorful and comforting delight.

Next was the Bacon Wrapped Lychee. Crisp bacon wrapped around sqishy sweet lychee fruit with a little bit of saffron sprinkled on top. It the perfect blend of salty and sweet. It is hard to just have one, so you might want to get your own order of three. Definitely a highlight!

As an entrée I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai. Asian rice noodles in a chili lime sauce with chicken and peanuts. I warn you it was on the spicy side and I needed to take a breather (and a drink of water) but even though my tougne was telling me no I couldn’t stop eating it. It was delicious.

Sochu House was a Japanese oasis in a strip center! I can’t wait to go back and try more and more!