[Korean food] SBCD Korean Tofu House 부창동 순두부

In the recent years, Korean restaurants/fastfood specializing in signature Korean food are getting more popular in Singapore.  Some of these specialties include bingsu, fried chicken, gimbap, bibimbap and the latest addition to the list is now soontofu (순두부).  In the 1970s, Korean soft tofu soup has been regarded as a daily comfort staple that provides a rich source of nourishment to Koreans and other nationalities residing in Korea.

SBCD Korean Tofu House, the latest Korean Restaurant in the Tanjong Pagar CBD district, specialises in a variety of Korean soft tofu soup, where the word "soon" actually means soft.

The restaurant uploads the kitchen philosophy of serving uplifting and complete meals.  Every soontofu dish is created using handmade silken tofu prepared fresh daily.  The broth comes in 4 different levels of spiciness - mild, medium, spicy and crazy hot.  After trying the various level of spiciness, level 3 seems to suit me best.  However, this may be a little too hot for some, who aren't into spicy food.

The modern and spacious restaurant has a total sitting capacity of 120 with 96 in the main dining area and 24 in the private dining area.

The private dining area can be further split into 3 smaller rooms with 8 seats each.  The private rooms are names after the restaurant's name, calling itself b-dong, c-dong and d-dong.  In the administrative division in South Korea, "Dong" means neighbourhood.

(entrance to one of the private rooms)

 (Private dining area)

The soft tofu is made with mature white soybeans, after they have been boiled, curdled and pressed.  The soybean is low in cholestorol and carbohydrates and is a good source of protein and calcium.  The chef comes in as early as 7am daily just to start preparing the fresh tofu for the diners.

(Chef making Prawn Tofu Pancake)

(Prawn Tofu Pancake)

Each soontofu soup is served with an egg and individually prepared in a rich, savoury broth.

Another unique practice in SBCD Korean Tofu House if the way the rice served with every meal.  Each bowl of rice is served in a hot stone bowl, and scooped out into a metal bowl at the dining table.  A thick crust of scorched rice (nuraungji) will remain in the hot stone bowl and corn tea is added into the hot stone bowl and covered to retain the heat to further cook the leftover rice.  Diners get to enjoy a bowl of rice porridge dish later, that is not only nutritious, but also aids in digestion.

(Hot Stone Bowl)

Each bowl of rice is cooked in individual hot stone bowl.  Each batch of rice are covered and pressure-cooked for a precise 15 min and 20 secs! 

The healthy soontofu soup is served with comforting taste of homemade side-dishes (ban chan), which include kimchi, seaweed, pickled green chillies, spicy squid strips and a whole fried croaker fish!  Serving a whole fried fish as a side dish is not common in Korean restaurants in Singapore.  Amongst the side dishes, what stood out for me was the seaweed and the kimchi.  They were totally delicious.  The price of set-meal ranges from $17.90 to $29.90.

There are a total of 4 appetiser dishes in the menu.  Besides the Prawn Tofu Pancake, there are also japchae, fried dumplings and seafood pancake.  Price ranges from $12.90 to $19.90.  The prawn tofu pancake is generous with the minced prawn fillings than the soft tofu itself.  Each portion of the appetiser is suitable for 2 to 3 to share.

(Prawn Tofu Pancake)

Besides the soontofu soup, the restaurant also serve popular Korean meat dishes such as L.A. Galbi, Spicy Grilled Chicken and Spicy Baby Octopus, with price ranging from $23.90 to $35.90.  Options are available to order these dishes as main dish or to include them in the combo meal along with a soontofu soup of choice.  My personal preference is the spicy grilled chicken, although I must say that the level of spiciness has been moderated, perhaps to suit the local taste.  The price for the meat dishes are comparable to BBQ dishes at other Korean restaurants.

(Tteok Galbi - Grilled Short Ribs Patties)

 (Spicy Grilled Chicken)

There is a good selection of 10 soontofu soups on the menu and fortunately for vegetarians, 1 of which excludes meat in the soup.  All soup base contain pork and vegetable, except for the Sesame Soontofu which does not use pork in the broth.  The ingredients used in this healthy option includes sesame, broccoli, mushroom and zucchini.  The taste is really light and suitable for diners who just want a light soup meal.  It is also the only dish that is non-spicy, making it suitable for junior diners.  

Overall, the restaurant serves quite a wide range of Korean popular dishes although the main highlight are the soontofu dishes.  The available of seats provides office workers in the vicinity, a good option for a healthy meal after work and with the enjoyment of continuous K-pop music.

The restaurant is located in Tanjong Pagar Centre, the newest tallest building in Singapore and is conveniently connected to the Tanjong Pagar MRT station.

SBCD Korean Tofu House
7 Wallich Street, Tanjong Pagar Centre, #B1-01/02 Singapore 078884
Tel: 6366 6441
Opens daily fom 11.30am to 10pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SBCDSingapore

[Singapore Restaurant] Bibigo: Hangover Soup, Feast Noodles and Grilled dishes in Korean Sauces

Trying out new Korean dishes is something I always enjoy doing!  These 4 new dishes on the Bibigo menu were delicious in their own way.  

Haejangguk, or squid and beansprout soup is popular among the working class in Korea since more than 100 years ago.  This is a quick and simple nutritious dish that has rejuvenating effect, since the drinking culture in Korea is really strong.  It is also known as the Hangover soup. It is essentially rice with soup, with squid and beansprouts as the main ingredients.  The squid was fresh and wasn't too tough to chew while the soup was light and refreshing.

Janchi Guksu, literally means 'Feast Noodles', which is a Korean noodle dish made of wheat flour noodles with a light anchovy-flavored broth.  This dish is served during special events such as during birthday parties and wedding feasts for centuries throughout Korea as this noodles symbolises longevity.  The texture of the noodles was really smooth like "mee sua".  Other than the slices of egg and vegetables, there was a piece of beancurd.  The soy chilli sauce, meant to be the tipping sauce for the beancurd was really tasty. 

Bibigo Spicy Chicken, the signature char-grilled chicken marinated in gochujang, red pepper sauce, served with seasonal vegetables.  Korean condiment, gochujang, is the most famous and most commonly used sauce in preparing Korean cuisine.  The primary ingredients for gochujang include red chilli powder, glutinous rice powder, fermented soy bean and salt.  This is a very tasty condiment when used for meat dishes.

The Spicy Chicken dish is really really quite spicy.  Despite the spiciness, it was really tasty.  The chicken pieces were well marinated and the meat was nice and tender.

 

Grilled Ssamjang Pork, was also very impressive.  Ssamjang is another type of Korean sauce which comprises gochujang, doenjang (crushed, dried and fermented soybeans), sesame oil, onion and garlic.  This sauce is typically used when eating BBQ dishes wrapped in lettuce.  For this dish, ssamjang was used as a marinating sauce instead and it was delicious!  The slightly charred pork brought out another delicious dimension to this dish.

Bibigo Hot Stone
Suntec City Mall Tower 3 #B1-107
Tel: 63385809
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm
Website: http://english.bibigo.co.kr/global/globalSG.asp
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bibigo.Singapore


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[Recipe] Korean Dried Pollock Soup (with Radish) [북어국]

This soup, although the main ingredient is dried Pollock, the other key ingredient is radish.  This is a traditional dish that is still very popular in Korean.  This is known to be good for health and has healing effect.  Check it out if you'd like some variation from the Chinese Radish Soup.  Enjoy!



Ingredients (for 2 servings):
2 oz (60 grams) dried shredded pollock, radish, garlic, fish sauce (or salt), water, green onion,sesame oil, egg, and water

Directions:
1. Take 2 oz (60 grams) of dried and shredded pollock from a package and tear each strip into thin pieces by hand. They should be about 2 ½ inch long (6 cm).
*tip: 1 package of dried shredded pollock that I use in the video weighs 150 grams (about 5 oz), so you could make 5-6 servings with 1 package.

2. Peel a radish and slice it into small pieces (2 x 3 inch and 1/8 inch thick) to make 2 cups' worth.

3. Slice 2 stalks of green onions. Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Beat 1 egg in a small bowl with a fork. Set them all aside.

4. Heat up a pot and add 1 tbs sesame oil.

5. Add the dried pollock strips and the minced garlic to the pot and stir it for 30 seconds with a wooden spoon.

6. Add 7 cups of water and the radish.

7. Close the lid and boil for 20 minutes over high heat.

8. 20 minutes later, open the lid and add 2 tbs fish sauce.

9. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 minutes.

10. Open the lid and pour the beaten egg into the boiling soup.
*tip: Don't stir the soup until the beaten egg is cooked and floating.

11. Turn the heat off and add the green onion.

12. Stir it with a ladle so the green onion is cooked a little by the boiling soup.
Serve with rice and side dishes including kimchi.