BY BETH KAISERMAN
(212) 967-1900 / www.bcdtofu.com/
Friendly smiles greeted guests as I stepped into BCD Tofu House on opening night in late April. Delightful Korean fare was being prepared in the kitchen at BCD’s new bi-level restaurant in Koreatown.
Soon Tofu
Located at 5 W. 32nd St., BCD Tofu House (formerly down the street at 17 W. 32nd St.) is a popular fast casual restaurant that’s been around since 1996, with most of its locations in Southern California. The brand is known for its traditional Korean tofu soup, known as “Soon Tofu Soup.” This yummy, hearty bowl of pork tofu soup was the highlight of the night, made with chili powder, bean paste, tofu, cabbage and salt water. I chose the seafood version, with mussels and shrimp, as opposed to the pork one. Served piping hot, attentive servers came around with eggs, which we cracked into the clay pot bowl. Covered with the steaming hot soup and a ton of hot seafood, the egg cooks itself at the bottom of the bowl. Talk about feel-good food; this dish is amazingly tasty and healthy at the same time.
LA Galbi
We also tried LA Galbi, awesome BBQ short ribs with the bone on, my second favorite dish of the night. Other tastings included jabchae, glass noodles with vegetables and tofu, spicy raw crab, fried dumplings, shrimp potato rolls, and grilled tofu skewers.
Longtime BCD fan Helen Kang attended the event. Born in SoCal, she’s hooked on BCD’s tofu soup, and said that’s pretty much the norm in SoCal.
“If you’re going to go anywhere for tofu, that’s where you go,” she said.
She liked the layout of this new location, with its long wooden tables and chairs.
“The idea here is Korean traditional,” she said. “Wood is very important.”
BCD stands for “Buk-Chang-Dong,” a city known for its prosperity, according to a press release. The ribbon was cut on Thursday, and BCD Tofu House is now open to the public.
