I am excited to have finally found what I think is the best Korean Spicy Soft Tofu Stew in Singapore! And the place is none other than Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu! This outlet that I visited is actually one of the stalls at Food Loft at 721 Ang Mo Kio Ave 8. It’s one of several express outlets of SBCD Korean Tofu House that has branches at Tanjong Pagar Centre, Millenia Walk and Alexandra Retail Centre.
New discovery of a neighbourhood gem
Was planning to have lunch at Khao Hom by Rung Mama at Djitsun Mall but it suddenly poured so heavily, I had to walk the sheltered route to get there. And that was when I chanced upon Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu at the coffeeshop. Decided to have lunch there instead as a piping hot bowl of tofu stew seemed like an ideal choice on a depressingly rainy day.
Simple menu. The tofu stew comes in different variations – seafood, pork, beef, dumplings or vegetables. They also have mandu (dumplings) in 3 flavours – pork, kimchi or japchae.
Soon tofu means ‘soft’ tofu. Their tofu is made with premium soybeans from Paju, South Korea that’s near to Korea’s demilitarized zone or DMZ. Suddenly, ‘Crash Landing On You’ came to my mind, lol.
Mandu $4.50 (3 pieces) / $6.50 (5 pieces)
We ordered 5 pieces pork mandu to share. Wanted kimchi ones but they weren’t available. These dumplings were awesome!
Filling was meaty. Dumpling skin wasn’t thick. Nicely fried. Crispy on the outside but it was light and not oily.
Every Soon Tofu Set comes with rice, kimchi and a packet of seasoned seaweed.
Beef Soon Tofu Set $7.00
The soup was really robust-tasting and flavoursome. Makes me wonder what are the 10 secret ingredients that go into making the soup, haha. Wish I could make the same standard at home but I really couldn’t tell what went into it. It was perfectly balanced in flavour. Not overly salty and it didn’t have that overpowering taste of gochujang like some other Korean tofu stews I had tried. Spice level was acceptable too. Got kick, very shiok!
And that tofu was equally smashing too! So soft, so silky, so smooth. It just slipped down the throat effortlessly.
Oh I loved that egg with a runny yolk right at the bottom of all that ingredients.
Pork Soon Tofu Set $7.00
The pork version was similar but I would still prefer the beef one as the beef was more tender and flavourful as compared to the pork that was a little bland and boring.
Final thoughts
We polished off both of our bowls, soup and all. This Soon Tofu Stew might seem like a simple, home-style dish but I felt there was so much going on in there. It was hearty, comforting and just delicious. It was something I wouldn’t mind eating frequently.
If you’re into soup, tofu and spice, you shouldn’t miss this out.
The second and third outlets are located at 671 Edgefield Plains and 132 Jurong Gateway. A 4th outlet will be opening soon in Woodlands.