Our Story

The Woon story starts with ‘Mama Fong,’ as we call her…

Two people, one sitting and one leaning, on a wooden table with benches, indoor setting, white wall, paper lanterns, potted plant.

born in Shanghai, she lived in Hong Kong with her family before moving to Los Angeles where she was raised, While her parents, Roger and June, had the desire to assimilate, Mama had a desire to rediscover her roots and explore Shanghainese / Cantonese cuisines. She taught herself how to cook Chinese food and became the star of her parents’ regular Mah Jong parties. Fast forward to having her own kids, Keegan & Andrea, when she then became the star of their parties…


Mama Fong was given the name because she took care of everyone. Keegan would come home to Tupperware filled with tofu cucumber salad. Friends would come over and she’d offer to get out of bed and cook for them. Hot pot nights consisted of all the friends surrounding the Lazy Susan having sake bomb contests. The loser would have to eat a chicken foot.

Photo frames with family pictures on red decorative table
Two framed vintage photographs on a wall. The top photo features a person sitting outdoors near foliage, and the bottom photo depicts four people standing around a table inside a room.

Once Keegan left for college, he had a reality check: the world he grew up in in San Gabriel Valley wasn’t universal. The food of SGV and Mama Fong were not universally accessible. It was a unique upbringing and the exposure to food was rare. Every visit back home he’d request Mama’s stir fried noodles, fishcakes, soy veggie wraps, pork belly, and five spice chicken wings… all of which are on the menu at Woon today. Not only was this Mama’s kids’ request, but it started to become everyone’s request.

Group of four people standing behind a wooden food cart with the sign "WOON," one wheel visible, flowers and potted plant on the counter, concrete wall background.

This is when we started to do pop ups in LA. First hosting our own pop ups in a Koreatown alley behind our friends’, Pico Studio. The family was all working full-time, so we’d have to take vacation days to prep, work the pop ups, break down past midnight, and do all the dishes next day. This cycle continued for 3 years… back & forth e-mails with the family to see what weekend we’d all be available and then popping up at the local bar in town when the timings worked out. We didn’t make money, but we always had fun and it was fulfilling. 

Outdoor evening gathering with people socializing around a noodle food stall. A chalkboard menu displays noodle options and a neon flamingo decorates the area. Dim lighting and casual setting with tables and string lights.
A woman in a red shirt and gray apron, wearing a patterned headscarf, holds a tray of dumplings in a well-lit kitchen.

We built quite a following with our wok-tossed noodles. So, one day, Keegan decided to jump ship and give it a shot full-time. He left his steady job in marketing to open Woon’s first brick & mortar in Historic Filipinotown. now, five years later, we are proud to have opened our second location in pasadena.

Illustration of a person wearing a zigzag-patterned hat, holding chopsticks near their lips, with eyes closed and curly hair.

welcome to woon

Sign featuring a graphic of a person with short hair holding a container of noodles and chopsticks against a clear blue sky.