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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel

When Nubi Yogurt had opened earlier this year, I noticed that there was a Korean tofu house right upstairs. So, of course, on another lazy night when I didn't feel like driving, lil' sis, her best friend, the oldest '88, and I decided to check it out. We were very pleasantly surprised. A good quality Korean tofu house in the San Gabriel Valley. With good panchan (Korean side dishes) too! So if you're not in the mood for tabletop grilling or all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue, I definitely recommend Ko Hyang Tofu House.


Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 1


The restaurant is quite spacious. I like the Korean cultural touches scattered throughout the restaurant such as the big clay urns, the kind used to hold kimchee, by the window.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 2

The back wall is lined with lots and lots of rice bowls.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 3

The Soon Dubu Kimchee Chigae (Korean soft tofu kimchee stew) during lunch is $5.99. The meat and tofu combos run around $11 to $12 for lunch and $13 to $14 for dinner.

Iced barley tea and a green salad.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 4

The panchan are the usual assortment but they're all very good, much fresher tasting than Hwa Ro Korean BBQ and Tofu just across the street.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 5

We ordered a kalbi (Korean beef short ribs) and tofu combo for $13.95. The rice comes in a dolsot (Korean stone pot) so the edges get nice and crusty. If there's any rice stuck in the pot, just pour your tea or water in the bowl to loosen it up and spoon away.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 6

And a Daeji bulgogi (Korean spicy pork) and tofu combo for $12.95.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 7


Here's a brief YouTube video of the sizzling meats.




The tofu stews that came out were bubbling too.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 9

Soon dubu mandu (Korean tofu and dumpling stew).



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 10

And the seafood and beef tofu stew.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 11

The seafood pancake was $9.95 and came out sizzling on an iron hot plate. There was some corn meal in the batter for a very different texture and crunch that what I'm used to.



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 12

It also was chock full of oysters, shrimp, and squid. Usually there's just one or two measly pieces but this seafood pancake had lots and lots. The sizzling hot plate kept the pancake crispy. The best!



Ko Hyang Tofu House - San Gabriel 13

I've gone back several other times and splitting a combo between two people is just the perfect amount of food. The panchan has always been fresh every time. The only downside is that if you're stuck sitting on the sides, you really have to flag them down for service. But other than that, for Korean tofu cravings, there's no need to drive to Koreatown anymore. Yay!

My other Korean tofu posts:
BCD Tofu House - Rowland Heights

Young Dong Tofu - San Gabriel

Ko Hyang Tofu House
140 W. Valley Blvd., #210
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626-288-9955

*****
1 year ago today, lil' sis made funnel cake.

9 comments:

  1. holla at me the next time you head to the valley for tofu. i want!

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  2. Hey WC - That Haemul Pajun looked really good...and I can see how adding a bit of cornmeal would add to the dish.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh man! I'm so glad that you posted this restaurant up. I remember that this was the first Korean restaurant my family and I went to. We went there twice during our one week trip to SoCal.

    -JSBanana

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  4. Boy, my knowledge of Korean fare is pretty minimal - too minimal to have "Korean tofu cravings", but after thee photos and your descriptions, I'm ready! Thanks for the write up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm really loving your Korean restaurant reviews!! Makes it easier for me to figure out where to eat when I visit my sister in LA.

    ...must...have...beef and kimchi soon dubu

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yummy! That's a lot of yummy food! I love korean food and they are so healthy too. Err..healthy right? Cos otherwise, i wouldn't eat so much types of veggie in one meal. Hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cathy,
    Will do!

    Kirk,
    The cornmeal really added to the texture. It was crispy much longer than at other places.

    Piee & JSbanana,
    Twice in one week? Guess you really liked it!

    Nikki,
    I'm running out of ways to describe all the Korean restaurants and food that I eat. :P

    Christine,
    I've got plenty more! Just too lazy to sort through the photos and post about them.

    PP,
    Yes, all those veggies are good for you. And except for eating lots of fatty pork belly, grilling removes the fat so that's healthy too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. OMG! I was missing your posts, was wondering what happened??? Didn't realize the feed changed...oops. Have lots to catch up with now...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rita,
    Yeah, I put up a notice about a month back, but I guess that got overlooked. Glad you're so dedicated to follow me anyway. :)

    ReplyDelete

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