Myung Dong Tofu House - West Covina

Myung Dong Tofu House
1025 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 338-0414
Type: tofu / Korean food
Map

Soon after Yogurt Space, we hit up some new tofu restaurant in the same plaza. It's called Myung Dong. Now I could easily turn that name into something inappropriate, but my young dong is bigger than that.

We went on a Sunday night just an hour or so before they were closing. There wasn't much else to eat at that time, especially tofu spots near my house. So no matter what was on the menu, we were eating there. Nothing fancy or unique about the place (not that I care-- as long as the food is good). So anyways, the tofu soups here are $8.99. About standard price I guess. It's been a while since I've been to a tofu house. I got the the seafood tofu soup. My girl got the shrimp and scallop + tofu combo ($13.99).



So the first question I would ask anybody who went to a tofu spot is, "How was the sides?" If you don't know already, you usually get free side dishes when you eat at Korean places. I think it's called banchan. (This might be the last time I explain this) For me, I have two or three different restaurants I compare other tofu spots to. On the upper end of the spectrum is Jeun Tong in West Covina, and Tofu Village in Garden Grove. They have consistently the best sides and the tofu is always good. On the lower end of the spectrum for me would be BCD. I'd say their sides are the wackest, but maybe that's cuz we only go there late night. I don't know if they serve better stuff during the day. Myung Dong's sides are just a little bit higher than BCD's. Not a good sign.

2nd rate sides


I've said before that it's hard to eff up on your tofu soups. Most places I've been to are pretty consistent. Even BCD's is okay for me. Myung Dong.... you gotta step up your game. The soup was noticeably lacking in taste. Of course I still finished it though. I was hungry.

looks good doesn't it.....


...it wasn't


The shrimp and scallop also looked better than it tasted. They only gave 2 scallops. The sauce it came with was eh-- that I remember.



I probably wouldn't go here again on my own will. But I don't know anybody else that really eats tofu soup as much as us. Maybe we'll go here on a Sunday night if we're too lazy to drive anywhere else and we're fiending for tofu.

Hashigo Tofu - Costa Mesa

Hashigo Korean Kitchen
3033 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-4911
Type: Korean food / tofu / restaurant
Map



redundant info.


Heard good reviews about this place on the internet. It's located kind of near the South Coast Plaza, but closer to the Active Rideshop and Urban Outfitters stores. If you don't know where those are at, then I can't really explain how to get there. I didn't drive and I'm not familiar with that area too much. Hashigo is in a small shopping plaza right next to an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) store and a sushi place I believe.

For the non-observant, we got there at night. The place wasn't packed but there were enough people in there that you weren't really worried if the place was gonna suck. It was pretty dark inside. Almost like a club or lounge kind of lighting. The place is kind of small with modern Asian fusion-looking design. There looked like a bar at the end of the restaurant.

We got seated right away and looking at their menu, I noticed it's different from most of the other tofu spots we've been to. This place serves more than the usual tofu soups, bbq short ribs, and bulgogi. If I can recall correctly, they had some sushi items. They also had other stuff which I always forget or are too lazy to jot down in my notes. Since we came here for tofu, that's just what we ordered.

I got the seafood tofu ($8.95) which comes with the usual shrimps, clams, and oysters. My girlfriend got the-- I forgot. It's mostly all the same anyways. All the soups are the same price. Before we got the soup though, comes the moment of truth. The maker or breaker of tofu restaurants for me. The sides i.e., banchan. So first comes the pickled cucumbers and sweetened potatoes. And then come the.... and then come the.... ahem... and then come the!!! What the freak man?! That's it? Two sides? I was so shocked and appalled. This was not gonna be a good meal for me I thought. Oh well. Just gotta make due with what you got. So we dug into the measly sides, and they actually weren't bad. The pickled cucumbers weren't too tangy and sour. The sweetened potatoes tasted just right. The two went together nicely.

pickled cucumbers and potatoes... and that's it.


The soups came soon after the sides. A pleasant surprise was that the soup pot/bowl seemed bigger than most other places. Another point for Hashigo. It tasted like most other good tofu places so that's a good thing. Like I said before, most tofu spots usually know how to make their soups consistent. They all taste pretty similar to me. You gotta be having an off day or you got rotten ingredients to have bad tofu. That's just me though.

larger than most tofu soup portion?


So I was disappointed in the amount of sides we got. Luckily for them-- and us, the two sides we got were perfect compliments to the soup. My girl said she wouldn't want to go here again. I say it's better than BCD and I wouldn't mind going here if I'm in the neighborhood. It's a good place to go if you're fiending for some soon tofu and your companions want something else. They got other options available at Hashigo for them. For me, I'll stick with the tofu here.

Kaju Tofu - Irvine

Kaju Tofu Restaurant
5408 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 653-2849
Map

Most tofu spots are pretty much the same, so it doesn't matter that I lost the pictures I took here. I'll make this pretty quick. Their tofu soups are $8.99. A good sign is that they get packed during peak hours. Their banchan (free side dishes) are like BCD's which isn't really a good thing. Call me a spoiled brat, but I'm used to having the servers scoop my rice for me, and crack the eggs into the pots. It was all done by my lazy hands here. The soups weren't bad. You gotta be a pretty bad tofu spot to have bad soup. All in all, this place was nothing special to me. I'm still calling Tofu Village in Garden Grove and Jeun Tong Tofu House in West Covina the top tofu spots on my list.

BCD Tofu House, Garden Grove

BCD Tofu House
9520 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: 714-636-5599
Type: Korean food / tofu soup
http://www.bcdtofu.com/
Map



(Jim)It's around 2am. You're hungry, and you don't feel like the usual Denny's or Jack In The Box. Maybe you're craving something Asian. Maybe you're craving some Korean tofu soup. Well, if you're in the Garden Grove area, don't you fret my friend. BCD Tofu House is there to save you!
You see, BCD is open 24 hours a day (atleast the one in Garden Grove is, and some of their other locations). That's why this place appeals to me. To be honest, in terms of tofu houses, I'd rank BCD somewhere around the bottom for me. But it's the place I'll go to if I want tofu and it's really late. They don't serve too many sides at night and the selection isn't so great either. But their tofu is just as good as any other place.