Choosing where to eat in Rock Island can be difficult, especially when there are so many businesses from different cultures to choose from! I decided from here on out that I will be continuing to make Soi Two my new spot.
As soon as you walk in, there are three areas of seating, wide booths, towards the back are more private smaller two people booths, and normal tables. The lighting in the building is relaxed and dim, creating a comfortable atmosphere. It also was not super busy, which was really nice. I immediately felt cozy and ready to eat. The waitress is very kind as she seats my friend and me, and we chose the smaller two person booths, and she hands us a menu, starting us off with some water. She gave us a menu to look at, and immediately there were so many options- from pho, dumplings, fried rice with different protein options, a variety of curries, even chicken wings with many sauce options. I went with pork belly fried rice and my friend got udon ramen with pork, and as an appetizer we had crab rangoons. The crab rangoons came out almost immediately, and were freshly made, five crab rangroons hot and ready. Although we had to wait a minute so we wouldn’t burn our mouths on them, I took a bite and they were great! They were creamy and filled with cream cheese and crab. I could actually taste the crab with them, too. I liked that a lot, even though they were slightly sweeter than what I normally prefer. Nearly as soon as we both finished the rangoons, both of our meals had come out, also steaming from how fresh they were coming out from the kitchen.
I waited for my rice to be less steamy so I could take a bite. It smelled amazing. When it was ready, I took a bite and the rice was so flavorful. It was wonderful. With the pork belly, which ended up being fried as well, it was buttery and melted in your mouth with that perfect crunch. It was perfectly crispy, and with the two flavors combined, it was so amazing.
As for the price of the food, you’re definitely getting what you paid for. I ate less than half of it, and was satisfyingly filled. My friend said her ramen was better than she thought it was going to be. The pork was flavorful and wasn’t dry like how some places make their pork with ramen. The bean root was perfectly crunchy and the broth was flavorful. There were honestly no complaints from either of us. The meal together was equally $40.00, and we ended up splitting, while bringing leftovers home. They brought us out really nice boxes that closed very tightly.
Overall, I don’t have many complaints or suggestions for their business. The service was very polite and fast, and everything was so good and flavorful. Besides the crab rangoons being a little sweet, some restaurants just do it that way, but I would definitely recommend, and will be going there more often.
