Chodang Tofu Restaurant

Was up in Arlington Heights this weekend and decided to try Chodang Tofu Restaurant. Excellent Korean tofu jigae (soup) place. They specialize in spicy tofu soup w/ either pollack roe (tarako), beef, mixed seafood, mixed seafood & beef, pork, mushrooms, beef & kimchi, etc. You can specify whether the soup is clear (non-spicy), mild, regular or spicy (very unique options considering Korean restaurants). Their menu also includes steamed beef/chicken mandoo (dumplings), a noodle salad (I'm guessing ChapChae), a cold noodle (likely nyang myun) and a kalbi plate (likely cooked in kitchen and not at the table). Your order of soup comes with a raw egg to crack immediately into the soup, w/ a few plates of pan-chan (assorted pickled veges or marinated veges) and rice in a hot stone pot which is a unique item. The stone pot keeps the rice hot AND like dolsot bibimbap, you get a crispy rice crust along the sides of the stone pot. Soups run around $7.99 - $8.50. Frequented mostly by Koreans and Japanese, the menu has Korean text on the left and English on the right. Very friendly wait staff. The decor is clean and nice. The dining experience itself is somewhat nice; We'll probably bring any out-of-town visitors, but may not necessarily go again on our own since it's a touch pricey for the soup (which they DO do very well) - there are less expensive alternatives around town however they most likely won't come w/ the stone pot rice."

Jay K wrote:- there are less expensive alternatives around town however they most likely won't come w/ the stone pot rice."

here's another option that does come with the stone pot rice

Hey Zim, I think I remember reading about Sogong Dong here on LTH; Waiting to give it a try. Interesting you mention "the process" b/c the table of middle-aged to elder Korean men behind us had glasses of poricha (which I noticed on leaving) and saw that they had indeed poured it into their stone pot, however we were not given poricha.

Zim, thank you for the reminder. I noted a tofu place not quite ready to open in N'ville recently and meant to check back. It is, in fact, another Cho Dang outlet (I am going to assume they are related, though the spelling does not appear to be exactly the same) which almost makes up for Joy Yee Noodles' arrival.

Now I need to try it, hopefully for lunch today since it now seems to be open.

Cho Dong Tofu Village
1271 E. Ogden Ave.
Naperville 60563
630-848-0884

dicksond wrote:Zim, thank you for the reminder. I noted a tofu place not quite ready to open in N'ville recently and meant to check back. It is, in fact, another Cho Dang outlet

I think this place opened last year some time. I tried it after it opened. Were they closed recently?

I tried it once, then kind of forgot about it. I'll need to check it out again.

Tim

the stone pots are about 50% of the experience. they keep the soondooboo boiling hot and allows the second course of burnt rice congee to be served.

also had the ai soondooboo at Chodang. It's ok. found the broth a bit lacking in both body and heat. the current soondooboo craze on the west coast is downright stupid. everyone and his mother (Korean or not) are operating these shops. insanely high profit margin and universal Asian appeal. i hope the trend dies in a blazing glory much like the boba craze...

Yeah, we made our own soondubu the other night and was thinking about the cost of ingredients (minimal) involved; Have to say it wasn't as salty - prob lacking the MSG.

I did visit the N'ville outlet that day & was quite pleased. It is the same ownership as the one in Mount Prospect, per their menus. Not cheap at $8 for my meal, but certainly enough to eat. It wil be interesting to see if they survive with all the competition and the focused menu. I would not have guessed that the first Korean place around would be focused on tofu.

The Ogden Mall seems to be going through an interesting transformation with Cho Dong, Cuisine of India, and signage indicating that a Gelati place is replacing the shuttered 31 flavors. I cannot wait to see what comes next!

dicksond wrote:I would not have guessed that the first Korean place around would be focused on tofu.

As TonyC mentioned, soondubu jigae restaurants are sprouting all over cities with large Korean populations. The dearth of soondubu restaurants here in Chicago surprised me when I moved back.

And does anyone know if the Sogong Dong on Bryn Mawr mentioned in zim's link has any relation to the Sogong Dong in Fort Lee/Pal park NJ?

DY wrote:

dicksond wrote:I would not have guessed that the first Korean place around would be focused on tofu.

As TonyC mentioned, soondubu jigae restaurants are sprouting all over cities with large Korean populations. The dearth of soondubu restaurants here in Chicago surprised me when I moved back.

Just to clarify, I was narrowly referring to N'ville, which had no Korean restaurants before this. That lead me to assume there is not such a big Korean population in the immediate area. For non-Koreans, I would think Korean BBQ is more accessible than soondubu, thus my surprise.

Personally, I hope they make it, and a BBQ place follows soon. But the restaurant competition out here is getting pretty brutal, so I have my doubts. The challenge for restaurants in more affluent suburbs is the killer combination of low population density, and very high rents, which is now combined with ever increasing numbers of competitors.

So the odds are against them. But I will be as good a customer as I can and try to bring others.

From what I understand, Koreans are flocking to the Naperville area, as they did to the North Shore suburbs ten to fifteen years ago. I figure this bodes well for Cho Dong's continued survival (as well as explain its trail blazing existence).

Regardless, the critical mass of Koreans in that area is such that I wouldn't be surprised to see Korean bbq and other Korean restaurants there in the near future.

I have benchmark dishes that I frequently order because I know I like them and they give me some points of comparison between restaurants. When in sushi joints, I usually get chirashi; when in Korean joints, I usually get bibim bab (or some variant of that spelling; it varies, too).

Last night at Chodang Tofu Village, we selected from this menu: note especially tofu bibim bab and tofu beef asparagus roll.



Though I thought it nice that the bibim bab came with three optional carbs (white rice, brown rice with millet, and rice with eight kinds of beans), the “deconstructed” nature of this dish kind of turned me off. Spreading out constituent ingredients made it very hard to mix everything up into a mess of deliciousness. I also prefer getting this menu selection in a hot rock bowl; spread out on a plate looks cooler and somewhat hipper (from a kind of Moto-esque perspective), but functionally it was challenging, and the flavors did not blend as I would have liked. I don’t know if the traditional preparation is in a bowl or plate, but I’m used to getting it in a bowl, so that’s what I like (hey, it’s a benchmark).

The Wife went with the tofu beef asparagus roll, and it was the standout platter of the night. Thinly sliced tofu was shrouded in finely sliced and lightly spiced beef (almost like cecina, chewy), stuffed with some asparagus and accompanied by what seemed a kiwi-based vinaigrette. This was good stuff. I have no idea if it is traditional Korean; it may very well be, but something about it suggested it was not (maybe the kiwi-based vinaigrette?).

Their quaint site: http://www.chodangtofu.com/

Hammond

Enjoyed a dinner last night that was the perfect thing when feeling under the weather. Kimchi and Beef soup with the accompanying hot bowl of rice and panchan for $11. What really stood out was the friendly service and welcoming atmosphere. Looking forward to returning soon.