Restaurants in Seoul: 북창동순두부 (BukChangDong Soondubu)

Despite being in Korea for a total of 8 months now, it has come to my attention that I had yet to eat the popular soft tofu soup, soondubu ( 순두부)! I had to set things straight as my friend Sophie invited me to this very popular chain with locations all over Korea. If you’re looking for a place to enjoy this popular dish, LA BukChangDong may be just the place!Their logo contains a flurry of letters making their official name hard to discern, but I determined that their general name is “LA 북창동순두부” (LA BukChangDong Sundubu). If you come across one of the stores, you can easily spot it by their “JBSD Good Health” logo (below).

I went to the Mokdong location near Omokgyo Station (오목교역) which is located in an underground food court called Paragon (파라곤).

Here’s the address:  서울특별시 양천구 목동 917 목동파라곤 지하 1층 4호

The place is located near some SBS studios, so a lot of people that work there come here to eat!

The establishment is very clean and has floor and chair seating. It feels very bright and clean. They even have a wall for autographs from SBS employees!

Menu
The menu has a nice variety of dishes and has complete English translations which is appealing for those less proficient at Korean.

The side dishes are reasonably tasty and generous. They all have mild flavors without being too overpowering. The kimchi has a slightly more fishy taste than most I’ve encountered. It’s very unique. The mackerel is very tasty and doesn’t have that oily taste you typically get with this type of fish, but rather it’s very light and delicate. There are a lot of bones though, so do be careful!

Mixed Soondubu (섞어순두부) – 7000 won
The soondubu tastes exceptionally pure. Most of the ones I encountered are absolutely flavorless, but this one manages to break that trend. The flavor is definitely there, but on the subtle side. People with insensitive taste buds may have trouble telling the difference. The soup is hardly what you would call spicy and the soft tofu just melts delicately in your mouth.

I opted for the mixed soondubu which contains small chunks of seafood and beef. Don’t be surprised if there’s not a lot of those though. Make sure to add an egg in the beginning while it’s boiling hot. I actually forgot to add an egg to my soondubu due to not eating it for such a long time. Don’t make the same mistake I made!

I opted to put all my rice in the soup to make rice soup. (국밥) It taste better this way in my opinion.

The crunchy left over bits of rice can be mixed with a hot tea to make nurungji 누룽지.

The restaurant is quite meticulous and everything felt very well executed. The flavors of what I ate are on the subtle side and most likely lower in sodium than a lot of other places. The prices are similar to American prices, but it’s not like it costs an arm and a leg. You’re guaranteed to get a very hardy and healthy meal, especially on a cold day. I definitely recommend going her if you’re an avid fan of soondubu or just want to give it a shot!