Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
4627 Geary Blvd
(between 10th Ave & 11th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94118
(415) 750-1818
As you can see, I have not been cooking lately - not for lack of want, but more so because I simply haven't had the time. So, for those of you who are not familiar with the wonder of Soon Du Bu Chige, I am presenting you with my current favorite Korean restaurant in San Francico - My Tofu House.
Located on a pretty mellow section of Geary Boulevard, My Tofu House is a favorite amongst locals, apparent by the waiting list that you will encounter during dinnertime. The menu is simple - no mile long list of unpronounceable dishes, rather, two pages in Korean with the English translation on the bottom. Though they make a pretty decent Bi Bim Bap and Bulgogi, their specialty is Soon Du Bu - tofu stew - offering at least nine different variations: original, seafood, dumpling, vegetable...I can't remember all of them, but I have not had a bad one yet.
Once you order, they bring you an assortment of na mul, the various side dishes commonly served with Korean food: bean sprouts, several types of kim chi, a fried fish, and little dried baby fish. Next comes a big stone pot of steamed white rice. And finally, the piece de resistance - your tofu soup in a stone bowl, still bubbling. My personal favorite is the dumpling tofu stew - a rich, spicy broth with soft tofu, rice cakes, and meat filled dumplings. You can choose how spicy you want it - I prefer mine "spicy", but for those of you who can't stand the heat...try the "white" or "mild" version first.
Usually, when I go with friends, we order our soup as well as an additional order of bulgogi - it's a ton of food, and often times the wait staff will offer you refills of any of the na mul that you want seconds on. And it's fairly inexpensive - $10.00 for your soup, and the bulgogi runs about $17 for a pretty large portion. I always leave here full and nice and warm inside.
3 comments:
What's the difference between na mul and banchan/panchan?
Great highlight! This is my favorite place to get soondubu in SF. I looked around, trust me. Perfect hangover food :) I also love the little (endangered, according to euge!) fish they give as part of the banchan. And this is the only place in SF that I have been to that does the barley water in the rice pot to make a rice porridge (jook?)...Sooj tells me that this is considered a treat after the meal, if you have room.
p.s. According to Wikipedia (the ultimate source on Korean culture, obvi), are the seasoned vegetables, and banchan is general term for the side dishes.
I mean namul are seasoned vegetables as part of banchan.
Post a Comment