This is definitely one of my go-to places in Chicago for Sundubu Chiggae-
I absolutely LOVE Korean spicy tofu soups :D
I always get the seafood tofu soup medium spicy. They usually serve a pretty good variety of side dishes (panchan?) that taste good as well. What I really enjoy about this place is the value. I get so full off about $10 and usually still have some leftovers to bring home and enjoy later!
The area is a little shady (my friends car got broken into once while we were eating here) and the restaurant itself is by all means not fancy, but the food is reliably delicious :)
This place is a joke, and I wish yelp has negative star option.
Went this disgusting place with my girlfriend, it was after lunch hour, and the restaurant was completely EMPTY, again, no one was there at all.
We ordered steamed dumpling, pork tofu soup, and seafood tofu soup.
Server brought out steamed dumpling first, and it was nasty. Dried, flat, nothing like their description on their menu.
However, we were ok with it, since we mainly went there for tofu soup.
Now, there comes our soups.
Only one stone pot rice came with, been told they are out of stone pots, because they are having a big group of customers soon, fine.
Saving stone pots for booked customers which never showed up until we finished our meal.
Found 3 pieces of pork in the pork tofu soup, which were looked like some left over porks they put in the soup (how the heck those pork bellies have grilled marks already?) and 3~5 shrimps in the seafood tofu soup, super tiny dried shrimp which you can get from the cheap frozen mixed seafood bag.
I called the owner, and asked what these are.
'I didn't put many porks, because pork is not good for your health'
Yes, you read it correct.
Seriously, that was an answer that came out from the owner's mouth. Well, thank you, you care that much of my health, then why did you even offer the pork tofu soup on your menu list?
It was and is the worst tofu soup place ever in my whole life (I am Korean and I know tofu soup)
I highly recommend you to stay far far away from this place.
This soodoobu is greattttt but it AINT the best. BUT I did really enjoy it. I would go back for sure but I really like the soondoobu in the suburbs.
The banchan is pretty good but there was like this smashed up fish that was gross. It kinda ruined it for me. haha. If you go.. don't try it. the rest of the banchan was pretty good.
the owner was a friend of my friend so she stayed open for us and hooked us up. She was nice. I dont want to bash their place but it was just pretty average.
We love this place. We have been back many times. We always get the dukbokki, some type of kalbi, and then a tofu soup. We also frequent this place when we are sick because they have the best chicken soup. You get this little pot with a whole young chicken, surrounded by a delicious and fragrant broth. The chicken is stuffed with sweet rice. It's pretty awesome. You will have more than enough to take home, and add some water and simmer so you can have more chicken soup to feed your cold.
Review Source:Me and my gf drove past this today and thought hey why not. At first we were kinda iffy about this place looking from the outside in, but said screw it cant hurt. Good choice on us though. Really amazing food and the customer service was awesome. I had the Sam Gae Tang ( chicken and ginseng ) soup and my gf had the seafood tofu soup and nothing short of amazing. The server was very kind and friendly, showing us how to eat the food lol. Decor is not bad and the tennis balls add a little laugh lol. But food was great, price is very reasonable and the customer service was awesome. Definitely a great find!
Review Source:Disappointing. I was really craving some yummy Korean tofu soup and we saw this place got good reviews. We had the tofu soup, bibimbap, and mandu. Both the soup and bibimbap were A-OK. Personally I think they both lacked salt, and the soup needed more spice. Mandu, on the other hand, I can say with confidence that it was the worse mandu I've had. The inside had absolutely no flavor, the wrap was saggy and fell off easily. It was horrible.
Review Source:I love soondoobu, so when Kenny O. suggested that we come here for soondoobu, I was really excited. Unfortunately the place did not live up to our expectations.
When dining in a Tofu House, I figured that their specialty must be soondoobu (tofu soup). It may still be their specialty, but we were very disappointed with ours, and I don't understand why this place has a four-star average. It really isn't good.
It started out with a waitress who couldn't understand that Kenny O. wanted a large and spicy kimchi and pork tofu soup and that I wanted a small spicy seafood tofu soup. We got what we wanted, all right, but Kenny's tofu soup was the same size as mine, which meant that it was a small order as opposed to a large order.
The first set of side dishes came out with the burnt rice. I didn't understand why they didn't just bring all of the side dishes at once, but that's a minor detail. The burnt rice was too burnt, if there's even such a thing. It was crispy to the point of dryness, and it tasted like old rice to me. Kenny described it as "chewy." It was very unappealing. The kimchi cabbage and cucumbers were the only side dishes that I enjoyed. I didn't like the fish cakes, and I normally love that stuff. It just didn't have enough flavor; it was very bland in taste. I didn't particularly enjoyed the kimchi chives nor did I enjoy the potatoes (they were slightly sour). Then the worst part of all: the mackerel was too fishy. By this point, I felt a bit offended. They gave us expired fish? WTF...
Back in California, I'm used to cracking my own egg over the boiling bowl of tofu soup and then mixing it all in. This isn't how they do it here at So Gong Dong though. It came out with the egg already in it, and my egg was a little more cooked than I would have liked. Kenny's was still runny. I was really disappointed.
And sure, I like all the little baby oysters, mussels, shrimps, squid, and calamari that came with my soup but the soup in general was so bland that there was very little difference between Kenny's and mine. So again, I was met with disappointment.
Save your money; don't go here.
I used to love coming here for seafood and beef soondubu because it was the best soondubu in the city, but recently the service and the quality of food has gone downhill. Â The last three times I ordered steamed mandoo (dumplings) and Haemul Pajeon (seafood pancake), the mandoo wrapper tasted floury and the pajeon was runny. Â I sent them back each time only to be served with an attitude and still undercooked appetizers.
So Gong Dong raised the price for the soondubu several times over the past year and now is $10 for a bowl. Â I thought the price was justifiable with the raw eggs to crack into our boiling stew and large variety of sides, which included grilled sardines. Â My soondubu tonight came with just 4 measly banchan sides and no raw egg or grilled sardines. Â The soondubu was a little bit too salty for me tonight too.
So Gong Dong is a tofu house and is known for its tofu dishes. Â They do have good soondubu and that is all I can vouch for. Â But I am not sure it is worth the trip from downtown all the way to North Park area to have some tofu stew anymore.
When you come to a place that calls itself a Tofu House, you bet I am going to order tofu and hope that the food is worth the drive from downtown. Nestled in the middle of Korean town on Bryn Mawr, it is not exactly the easiest place to get to. The Bryn Mawr buses serve this place but it would be easier if you are driving, especially when you are getting here from Uptown or Lincoln Park.
Many of us got the soft tofu stew as this was truly a test of how well the tofu was prepared. As tofu does not necessarily have much taste on its own, it borrows much of its flavour from the broth which is made from a mixture of vegetables, kimchi and stock. I did think that they did quite a good job with the chigae in general. Banchan was so so though in terms of quality and quantity. I would come back to try other items in the menu if not because of the location.
So, when dining at a place with Tofu House in its name, I suppose one should order a dish wit tofu in it, as this is probably their specialty. Â Well, I didn't. Â Instead, I ordered the bibimbap with shredded beef. Â I figured it was a safe bet as I've had it at other restaurants. Â My food arrived in a big, fancy white bowl, with fancy greens on top. Â It looked very hearty and tasty. Â As I started to mix it up, I noticed the amount of shredded beef was lacking. Â The beef that was there, was more like hamburger and pretty bland. Â Yeah, not what I expected.
I'm not a huge fan of spicy foods, so I typically don't use Korean chili paste. Â Well, the server noticed this and proceed to grab the bottle of chili paste, and pour it over my meal. Â I was in such shock, I didn't know what to do. Â My friend jumped in and stopped her and tried to explain that I don't like super spicy food. Â I get it, I'm not Korean. Â I still know how I like my food.
There was also a snafu with my friend's chicken dumpling soup. Â She doesn't eat beef. Â There were chunks of what looked like ground beef floating in her soup. Â Maybe that is where my meat disappeared to.
Second time coming here. I was in the mood for shabu shabu, but the place that we usually go to is closed on Sundays. Saw the tofu house on our way driving to Hmart and had the craving for something warm and healthy on a cold day.
Make sure that when you come here to order the tofu soup and add an egg. All of their tofu soups are on the last page of the menu and has a variety of different options. I had the tofu soup with beef and seafood and the boyfriend got the tofu seafood soup. I wasn't too impressed with the beef choice, but the soup was still good. I'd rather get all seafood next time because the beef didn't seem to mix that well with the seafood.
The food comes out pretty fast in a sizzling cast iron bowl. The soup includes a bowl of rice that you're supposed to scoop out and eat with the soup. The rice is served in a bowl that's really hot that it tends to stick to the bowl after you scoop it out into another small bowl. All you have to do is pour the barley tea they give you into the rice bowl and the rice will peel off. The crispy rice is very good. I mean, it's nothing special, but I do like the crispiness of it. I do remember the soup being more spicy last time. I'll make sure to have them make it spicy the next time we stop by for a quick dinner.
Spicy tofu soup is one of my favorites growing up and such a treat when I get it now...my parents used to take me here when I was younger and we'll still go sometimes when we want soondoobu and mom isn't in the mood to make it. The food is always consistently good, and I like pretty much everything I've gotten here. I usually also go for the mackerel which is done fairly well too. They give you the main banchan (couple of kimchis are there, but the selection seems to rotate based on my memory), but you don't go here for the sides. Once you get your rice into the bowl, throw some of the tea into the hot metal bowl and let it sit...the leftover hot rice will eventually turn into a porridge that's delicious and a perfect way to finish the meal with the rest of your banchan.
The place is somewhat  of a hole in the wall and as other reviewers stated, service can be slow. The last time I went one of the servers asked me to help her fix her phone so that was a bit random, but hey, I was able to fix it!
I love coming here, and I'm very happy that I have friends that literally jump at the chance to go whenever I suggest going. Give it a shot - you probably won't be disappointed.
If you want some great Korean Tofu, this is the place to go. They have some great ban chan dishes (side dishes). You know that this place is quite authentic because the patrons are all Korean.
I ordered the beef kimchi tofu. I had to specifically ask for that because that isn't exactly on their menu. In fact, it is all the way at the end of the menu. I was a little surprised by the placement considering that the name of the restaurant is specifically called Tofu House. Anyhow, be careful of the rice bowl. It is extremely hot and you cannot touch it. I was accidentally scalded. I think it was only movable from the plastic base. In fact, just have them scoop it for you in the other bowl and remove it from your table so you don't get accidentally burned.
When I first tasted the broth in the tofu soup, it was very tasty....the level of quality that I am used other Tofu Houses in the LA area. I would love to come back here again. There is only pay for parking on the street.
Nom nom nom!! Grabbed a quick bite here last week before the show at Hollywood Lounge. Service was quick,efficient,just what I needed.My dinner companion and I shared the Seafood Pancake appetizer.It was different,but delicious. Thin pancake stuffed with sqiud,shrimp and other seafood. It was yummy and I could have eaten that as a meal.This baby was huge!
My friend had Bulgolgi and she proclaimed it perfection. I had a spicy veggie noodle dish. Our server must not have liked the way I was tossing my noodles together.She came over and helped me do it! It was cute,and I,admittedly,. was not giving them a vigorous toss....
Food was reasonable,portions huge.I really want to come back when I have more time to relax and enjoy a meal.
First time here and the last!
I shall call it LIQUID CIG SOUP (read below and you'll see where the inception of this name came from)... this soup really had a distinct taste, one that would leave a long lasting memory & not for the best. I can understand if it tasted bland, but burnt cigarette ashes????! Ugh, I never liked the smell of smoking so the taste of that soup was enough to make my stomach hurl and ruin my appetite. GROSS! My friend and I ordered bulgogi, fried dumplings, and the liquid cig soup (I can't recall from memory the name of the soup that you guys should beware of!)
Ok.Ok. Maybe it was busy? Maybe they didn't have time to make the soup? There were a party of over 20 people that came in when we were there. No No No....BUT, they had a buffet style dinner and the food was already prepared by the time they got there, giving them ample of time to make our soup.... or so I thought.
Our order came with the usual side dishes and miso soup. The miso soup was also tasteless and watered down! There was also nothing in the soup.. no seaweed, tofu, NADA. How can the restaurant ruin 2 soups? Best believe my instant miso soup is better than that! Even the side dishes were awful. The bulgogi and fried dumpling were EH at best. Overpriced and nothing special. I haven't had a disappointing meal in such a long time... I was hungry as heck by the time I left.
The only thing I liked from the meal was the fish that came with the side dishes..... lol.
MAYBE I will have better luck with kalbi from here???
Ohhh, my. So Gong Dong Tofu House, you have me hooked! Deliciousness comes in so many forms here. For example:
-- Hae mul pa jun: seafood pancakes. Tender, filled with seafood and scallions. With their sesame infused sauce, it's a near perfect food
-- Soondubu jjigae: seafood and tofu soup. Hot, with silky tofu, it's packed with protein and spiciness. Texture, flavor, heat!
-- Dolsot bibimbap: rice topped with grilled seasoned beef, veggies, chili-bean sauce, topped with a fried egg in an EXTREMELY hot stone bowl
The last item has the great feature of making the rice toasty on the bottom. The idea is to use some water to get the last of it out of the hot volcanic bowl. However, when our server found out that I am Japanese, she knew that we like to eat our toasty-bottomed rice without water. How did she know? She scraped it out for me so I could enjoy it without any hint of sogginess. How's that for good service?
So Gong Dong Tofu House has a few rooms off the main dining area, so you can pretend you're the only ones in the restaurant if you want. They also do carry out, but call ahead because they make most of their items fresh to order.
I haven't tried their bulgogi or jopchae yet, but when I do, I'll let you know how they are. I'm sure they'll be just as delicious as everything else I've had so far!
we came on a sunday night for dinner. The restaurant was completely empty except for 1 table, and the owner actually reserved a private room for us. We ordered
spicy rice noodle - very good, spicy and sweet at the same time with 3 different types of noodles and some vegetables.
fish hot pot - full of fish pieces, vegetables, tofu, and clams, the soup was spicy but not overly so. I thought it was ok, although quite warming during the winter time.
little dishes - ok, i wish there were more variety, there were just 6 different kinds including kimchi, squid, tofu strips and pickled carrot.
home made rice - good, burnt on the outside, and very sticky.
chop chae - good, sticky with lots of vegetables & meat.
kalbi - ok, it was prepared differently than what i'd imagined. it looked like it was steamed, not bbq. i was disappointed at the taste, it was flavorless and chewy.
The owner reminded me of the Korean mom i've never had. She taught us how to hold chop sticks korean style (high on top), pour barley tea into our left over rice pots so we can finish every drop, and told us to eat more. I have to say that this is a very laid back restaurant with virtually non-existent service. We had to flag her (the owner) down several times to order, get more water, and get the check. The food was toward the healthy side, very different from what i expected.
A great place for some healthy Korean soup and yummy side dishes!
Sometimes I just get a craving to speak a little Korean and to dine on some spicy kimchi and bitter ginseng. Â Until I found this place last month (based on a recommendation from Paul Kahan at a local food festival), I did not know where to go for this in my new Chicago home.
This place is just right! Â The owner was very friendly--she brought a magazine over to our table, provided an enormous selection of side dishes, and prepared some of our food at our table--and tolerated my broken Korean. Â I had the tofu ginseng soup and my fiance had the hot stone bim bim bap. Â Everything was served HOT (temperature) and tasted very fresh.
The meal was delicious and cheap. Â We will be back soon!
Chilly, wet, gray, snowy, running errands, Chicago rush hour, early evening...blah.
Just hearing the sizzling bowl cures what ails you!
Yummy, tummy warming Spicy Tofu Soup...ahhhhh...served in a hot stone bowl.
Excellent Bim Bi Bop in the hot stone also.
Dark paneling, outdated, nothing special decor.
But the food and the prices make up for the lack of style.
Servers are all Korean speaking, but speak enough English for you to understand what you are supposed to with your crackling rice and raw egg.
When they notice you ate certain side dishes (Banchan) that come with the meal...they ask if you want seconds. Love it!
They offer Korean BBQ but I have never tried it here.
I don't think I'll ever order anything here that doesn't come in a sizzling hot pot...I imagine I would leave feeling like I missed something.
The seafood soondubujjigae (spicy tofu stew) is awesome -- flavorful, good balance of tofu and assorted seafood tidbits. Â Comes with crispy rice in a hot stone bowl, extra awesome. Â Semi-private rooms on the side that make you feel like you're eating dinner at some dude's house in Korea in the 70's, even more awesome. Â
But otherwise, the banchan was average and the yukgaejang (spicy beef stew) wasn't too special. Â Pajun was good. Â The service was fine, the decor is what you'd expect. Â If you go to a Tofu House, order the soondubujjigae.
What do you get when you get the free mackerel of Ban Po Jung, equally good bulgogi as Da Rae Jung, none of the bullshit waiting of Cho Sun Ok and blazing service? So Gong Dong Tofu House. Â Instantly my new favorite Korean restaurant in Chicago.
The dumplings were forgettable, and I'm not certain the soon du bu was too great (although I'm not huge on soon du bu to start with), but everything else was fantastic. Â
a) good kimchi - check. Â
b) the availability of kimchee fried rice - awesome. Â oh, what's that? of course you can add fried egg. Â
c) rice in a stone pot - check. Â Gotta get those crispies after it hardens!
d) cheap prices. Â We stuffed our faces, ordered dumplings, seafood tofu soup, kalbi, kimchee fried rice and we were still hungry, so ordered a bulgogi too. Â All for less than a Jackson/head.
To top it off, the owner here is very nice...and food was delivered at a ridiculous pace, like a Gatling gun. Â While sometimes you may find this annoying, we were starving and only happy (and stunned) by the speed at which our food came from the kitchen. Â We wondered if some of it was premade, but based on taste, we didn't think so. Â No attitude here unlike at Solga, no waiting, lots of empty tables. Â This place really isn't unknown, there were lots of writeups from various publications plastered on the outside, but I guess it may be a little inconvenient to get to. Â But based on experience #1, I might even be willing to ride the Brown line to Kimball and walk here. Â Yay for SGDTH!
I've been meaning to go to this place for a while, but I always forget it exists. Â It's tucked into an unassuming part of W. Bryn Mawr, in between many other Korean businesses.
This weekend was cold and gloomy, so I figured a bowl of hot tofu soup would be perfect. Â And it was.
The tofu house is spare in decor, with large pictures of the menu offerings on the wall. Â There's maybe 10 tables, and a couple of private rooms. Â There was another couple sitting at a table when we went, and a small group in a private room. Â Since it was my first time there, I wasn't sure how to ask for the room, because it looked cool. Â Next time!
I ordered a bowl of the kimchee and pork tofu soup, and my dining companion ordered the pork and tofu soup. Â We also ordered a round of mandu for good measure. Â After we ordered, the server returned with two well-worn, thick Korean magazines for us to peruse while we waited for our food.
The food came out in a timely fashion, first our mandu, then our soups. Â Mandu were very good, with tofu and scallions in a delicate, almost translucent wrapper. Â My kimchee and pork tofu was delicious, with bites of silky smooth tofu, kimchee, egg, and pork belly in every bite. Â I was hoping it was a little spicier, but when I re-read the menu I found that you have to order it spicy.
Along with our meal came about 5 or 6 panchan, which included kimchee, tofu, pickled vegetables, and small oily fish which I could not identify. Â This was my first time ordering dolsot rice, and when the server brought a pitcher of hot water to the table, I thanked her and put it next to me as I had no idea what to do with it. Â When she came back to check on us later, she said something about my rice, and then instructed me to pour the water into the stone pot to loosen the rice. Â i got all the delicious, nutty rice out this way. Â At the end of the meal, we were brought two small bowls of a sweet rice drink, which was a fine finish to a great winter lunch.
All in all, this is a great place for a nice, cheap lunch or dinner.
If you are in search of GOOD tofu then you should really bookmark this place.
They have 10 different kind of tofu soups to choose from.
Korean BBQ is just perfect and prices are great for the portions you get.
Inside decoration is not something to talk about... Typical Korean style I guess.
Bathrooms are clean.
Pros: Soup, BBQ, Tofu is not some fake, knockoff version.
Cons: While the staff is friendly and place is clean, nothing too big if you are on a first date to impress someone.
I NO LIKE-A THE JUICE!
I go to San Soo Gab San...A LOT. So much so that now when I get anything less than 24 plates of panchan, I feel hollow and incomplete. In any case the kimchi here was good, but I didn't get some of my favorites like potato salad, fish cake, bean sprouts, etc. *tear* Despite this setback, I kept my chin up. On to the main courses...
SOON DUBU: My main reason for coming here. Good, but not life-changing. Generous amounts of squid and mussels and chock full of tofu. My only complaint was that the broth wasn't as flavorful as I would have liked.
CHAP CHAE: I no like-a the juice! I'm not accustomed to my chap chae swimming in a pool of gravy. This diluted the flavor and was no comparison to SSGS's version.
BULGOGI: Again, I no like-a the juice! Where is all this sauce coming from?
Overall, it was a good, but decidedly average meal. It's too bad though, as the lady running the place is a sweetheart who gave us great service. Perhaps I'll give them another shot and try some of their jigaes.
This place is actually a great substitute to Cho Dang when I'm having a spicy tofu soup craving and my favorite tofu soup place in the city! Â They make the soup nice and spicy so I'm super content munching away (okay, not literally munching since it's soup but you know what I mean). Â Plus, their pan chans are quite good...they had some different ones that I don't see at most restaurants and the seafood pajun was tasty as well. Â
The service wasn't very attentive but hey, it's a Korean restaurant...you need to lower your expectations, like getting excited when your child gets a C on his report card instead of that A!
What a difficult name for a restaurant!
Try saying that 3 times fast - I'm Korean, and I have a hard time saying it just once!
Name aside, they do have delicious soon duboo (same thing as tofu, but that's how it's phonetically pounced in Korean). Â It's so spicy, I was sweating!!! Â In a good way. Â Their rice comes in the stone pot - with peas!!! Â Delicious! Â Freshest rice you'll ever get! Â I'm not sure if they do this for the non-Koreans, but after you scoop the rice out, and the rice cooks and browns on the stone pot, they pour barley water in the stone pot, and you get nu-roong-ji! Â That's my dad's favorite thing ever. Â I guess it's like rice in water, if you're not Korean. Â You don't get that at all Korean restaurants.
We had the dukbokki to start, it wasn't very good - I wouldn't recommend it. Â There was one positive though - the egg (see below)!!! Â Â
Side dishes (banchan) could have been better, but for the price, I'll take it!
I had 3 eggs during my meal!!!
I loves eggs!!!
1 - egg in dukbokki
1 - egg as banchan
1 - egg in my soon duboo
The dolsot bibimbop was also very good (there's an egg in that too)!
I love the crispies on the side of the bowl!
Super cheap though - definitely worth every penny. Â Service is also very personable and friendly.
If you're having an egg craving - you can get it here!!!
We were just driving down Bryn Mawr looking for a Korean restaurant, and thankfully stumbled on this one. Â I knew we hit the jackpot when we entered during off hours (2pm?) and saw several tables with Korean customers. Â Thats how I judge my ethnic food, if there's people of that ethnicity eating there.
When we sat down, we were both served hot tea and got a generous portion of banchan. Â I ordered the bi bim bop, which was delicious, but after reading the reviews I wish I went for the dolsot bi bim bap so that the rice stayed warmer. Â My boyfriend got a cold, buckwheat noodle dish, which was also delicious. Â Oh yea, and I got a magazine of Korean businesses in Chicago and Korean fashion while we were waiting for the food. Â Interesting touch. Â Not to mention, the waitress was very kind and praised us for finishing our food. Â It was a great meal!
I went there b/c I was craving for some sudobu. Â I ordered the seafood tofu sundobu. Â It was bubbly hot and came with an egg to crack into the soup, and a big bowl of rice. Â It was very good soup, with a big mussel, some clams and loads of tofu. Â I am going to order extra spicy next time though. Â I'm a fanatic with spicy soup.
My friend had their dolsot bibimbap which is a hot stone bowl, filled with rice korean preserved vegetables and a fried egg on top. Â They also give you a saucer of hot sauce, so you can mix everything together to a steaming bowl of goodness before you eat it. Â The stone bowl creates crunchy texture by toasting the rice on the bottom. Â Â It's a must -try. Â
We also shared a seafood pancake and enjoyed it. Â Chunks of shrimp, squid and oysters in the pancake with loads of green onions. Â This pancake has more content than ones from other Korean restaurants that I tried.
The lady saw that I didn't eat much of my rice that came with my soup, and told me I could get brown rice next time if I'm on a diet. Â Nice lady.
Not much atmosphere to speak of. Â It's a neighborhood restaurant for the Korean community. Â I'll go back in the winter and try their other soups for sure.
We showed up at the Tofu House as they were closing up for the night (around 10 pm). The place was already empty, but maybe we looked especially hungry, because they took pity on us and made us 3 delicious dolsot bibimbaps.
The servers are very nice and really go the extra mile to look after the customers. The food was fresh, tasty, and affordable ~$8. We will definitely come here again.
So I had a hankerin' for bibimbap the other day and was looking for something other than SSGS (not that there's anything wrong with SSGS, quite the opposite), but I wanted to branch out. Â So I went to So Gong Dong Tofu House. Â The only problem with SGDTH is that unless you read Korean you really have to use the street address to figure it out. Â After that, the game is afoot!
My friends and I were given plenty of time and room to make decisions, though I knew exactly what I wanted. Â So when the wait staff showed up, my friends ordered 2 orders of cubed beef and I ordered the Dolsot Bibimbap. Â
The banchan came quickly and were delicious. Â The beef arrived and we tossed it on the grill and My bibimbab was sizzling with the egg sunny side up right on top. Â The delicious aroma of sesame oil wafted from the bowl like a super hot heaven. Â I mixed it up and dug right in. Â Everything was right with the world. Â
The rice in the bibimbap was hot, and delicious, crispy golden and sticky against the searing hot bowl. Â I can't wait to go back!
Finally, some real sundobu jigae!! We were feeling so deprived that we asked our Korean friends for recommendations...and a couple of them directed us here.
FOOD:
First off, the banchan. Sweet and sour kimchi, marinated sardines, beans, etc...they're all so tasty. The waitress saw us enjoying them so much that she brought us some new kinds of banchan...so we ended up with about 10 dishes. Fair enough!
The pot of tofu actually came out boiling and sizzling hot, not like the fake ones that are merely steamy warm. The seafood tofu tasted just right for me, smooth and mild. If you want it spicy, you're gonna have to insist for it because I think they generally make the soup mild. The rice in the pot was good, especially the 'burned' sections. At the end, we walked out happily stuffed and satisfied.
PRICE: Reasonable beyond doubt.
DECOR: How can I say...a typical Korean setting? It's partially wooden, but bright. On the side are several elevated rooms for private and larger parties.
PS: The best part was when the waitress brought me a Korean fashion magazine while waiting for our food. Very thoughtful -- You need not understand the language to enjoy the photos!
After having a horrendous experience at "Korean Restaurant" on Lawrence, we were scared of Korean Food (not Korean BBQ, mind you).
Sogongdong Tofu House has brought us back into equilibrium.
The ambience is very much a flourescent lit, cafeteria style Korean diner, but the food is anything but (obviously it is not hypercolor, but also not cafeteria style). We had the steamed dumplings and went half-sies on the Miso Spicy Tofu Soup and the BeeBimBop. Both were very good.
The Miso Soup would be an excellent rainy day food and was a meal onto itself. The BeeBimBop, once appropriately splashed with Chili Paste, was excellent as well.
We will be back out to try the Korean food, but likely will do so at SoGongDong only.
This is probably my favorite soon-dubu tofu house in Chicago by far. The dining setting is very simple like most family style Korean eateries but the soon dubu jigae (soft tofu stew) is amazing and always hits the spot. The rice and tofu stew is served in the traditional hot clay pots with a good selection of side dishes to compliment the meal.
The ladies who run the tofu house are usually nice especially once they see you again after your first visit. Prices are reasonable and the food comes out quickly.
It only holds about 50-60 people max so it's a nice intimate dining setting for friends and family. The banchan sides are always fresh and the portions are hearty.
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