Following the tragic discovery at The Kitchen in Kerrisdale, I’ve been utterly deprived of the heartwarming, wholesome, and coma-inducing Korean tofu soup. I didn’t think I could ever trust again…
Finally. I have risen from the decrepit abyss that is void of Korean food, to discover House of Tofu Soup in Richmond. When you drive along Garden City, what you’ll actually see is the back of the restaurant, which looks pretty sketch to me. On the flip side, once you see the store front and walk in, you realize that it’s a very neat and inviting restaurant.
As per usual, hippoCHAN and I were served a medley of mini appetizers. That day, we had kimchi (duh), sweet potato mash (no, that’s not ice cream!), something crunchy (bottom left), seaweed, and pumpkin soup! I really enjoyed the seaweed and kimchi; they really jumpstarted my appetite :)
By the way, all the appies are refillable! Also, in case you were wondering, the eggs were for the tofu soup to come!
While hippoCHAN decided to order only the Tofu Soup ($9.99), I upped the ante and got the Soup Combination ($14.99), which included a bowl of steamed rice, tofu soup & a bulgogi dish.
For the tofu soup, you get to select the spiciness level, which is cleverly illustrated by different colours (white to red) that accurately reflect the hue of the soup. As you can see, I picked HOT – the second darkest red. Also, I picked the seafood variety, But, there’s beef, pork, mix, kimichi, dumpling or mushroom available as well.
What can I say? This heaty bowl was delicious! Sip after sip, you fall deeper into a blissful serenity, snuggly wrapped in warmth. What’s more, the soup is prepared from scratch by the owner.
Although I wished that there was a greater variety of seafood, each component of the hot pot tasted awesome. The tofu was soft and smooth. As well, the shrimp, clams and squid imparted great flavor to the soup.
For the other half of my combo, I ordered Pork Bulgogi. You can also choose chicken or beef, but I prefer pork because it’s slightly spicy and sweet!
Be careful! The plate is sizzling hot! So hot that it actually cooks the raw onions until they’re soft. Even though it is tempting to dive in right away, I recommend that you let the dish sit for a while. Not only will you avoid scorching your tongue, but also the pork tastes even better with the cooked onion!
On another day, I returned to House of Tofu Soup with Hashie and Shrimpo! Just for difference, I ordered the Beef Tofu Soup. It tasted great as the beef soaked up all the great flavor of the broth. Nonetheless, I still preferred the seafood one!
Hashie ordered the Stone Bibimbap ($10.99), a stone bowl rice w/ a variety of toppings. However, I think she substituted the meat for more veggies because she’s being a lacto-ovo vegetarian or something…
Oh yeah, after the server scoops out the rice out of the stone bowl, they pour in some hot tea. This way, it’s sort of like a congee! It’s odd, but it tastes great!
Final Bytes
1. Awesome variety in combos!
2. Vegetarian friendly!
3. There’s the regular Bibimbap that’s a dollar cheaper; only difference is that it’s not in a stone bowl!
Foodobyte’s Rating
