SunDu Booyah! :: Tokyo Sundub

I really love Korean food. When I lived in New York, I worked on 34th and Madison which is like a black hole for good food. Subway? Guy and Guillard? Starbucks? How about some Sabarro's Pizza? One can only eat $10 salads and pre-packaged sandwiches so many days in a row before going crazy. The only saving grace is it's proximity to 32nd Street, aka K-Town. It is quite possibly the smallest K-Town you'll ever find, but quality trumps quantity. Korean fried chicken, BBQ and my favorite, sundubu. My sister first introduced me to sundubu in Oakland, CA and I later became obsessed with it after my Korean friend took me to Seoul Garden in K-Town. Breaking it down, sundubu is a hot tofu soup eaten with a raw egg cracked in it and you eat it with rice. Nothing is better on a cold, gloomy day or when you're feeling sick and cranky. It will literally kick all the bad out of your system and it's pretty healthy too! It is so good, that every time my sister came to town, our first meal was at Seoul Garden for sundubu. Ahhh, memories.

There are quite a few Korean restaurants in Tokyo and there is even a soon doo boo chain called Tokyo SunDub. I was hesitant to try it because it's a chain and I have only ever eaten sundubu in mom and pop type shops. Tokyo SunDub gives you lots of options - miso or salt base - meat, seafood of veggie - 5 levels of spiciness. I ordered mine "very hot" but it wasn't so spicy at all - I guess we're measuring spiciness on the Japanese scale here...also, just so you know, just because you order a meat soup doesn't mean there won't be seafood in it too. My pork sundubu also had scallops, shrimp and clams, but I didn't mind. The more the merrier. Speaking of more, check out all the yummy goodies that came with my soup!

 

I love banchan! Banchan are Korean side dishes like kimchi, pancakes and marinated veggies and you always get a ton for free at sundubu restaurants. The milky drink in the picture is Makgeolli, a fermented rice wine popular with girls because it is sweet.

Tokyo Sundub
Multiple Locations in Tokyo
Roppongi Hills, Hollywood Hills B2F