NY Tofu House: yummy tofu

I've passed this place more times than I could imaging but never went in. Being a poor college student I can't afford nice Korean food. (Unless its Woorijip in K-Town). The green awning with its brightly lettered "NY TOFU HOUSE" just screamed "You can't afford this so just keep walking and wistfully glance back a few times."

But finally, I got a chance to visit this place. The front was empty when walking into the store but in the back was where most of the customers were seated. It was cozy with wood walls and warm lighting. I went in the afternoon around 3pm so there weren't a lot of people and I recieved plenty of space and attention without noisy neighbors.

Sitting down I already felt at home. The dark wood tables were a lovely addition to the whole "cozy tofu house" feel. It didn't take me long to order. I automatically knew I did not want my usual bulgogi or kalbi anything. Everytime I go to a Korean resturant the safest thing to order is the bulgogi. Seeing as this is a tofu house I definetly had to order tofu. For the appetizer I got the Monkey Balls (Yes because the name grabbed my attention) and the Seafood Jigae (or Tofu Stew).

While waiting I noticed they had the most adorable chalkboard displaying their daily specials. I want a chalkboard in my house now. 

The Side Dishes: Banchan

The banchan was three dishes instead of usual five or six I have had at most resturants.I've heard yelp reviewers were very dissapointed at this. Honestly, it didn't both me that much. I've had places that give you 5 little dishes and I'd only eat from 3 of them anyway because the others tasted off. Though I really wished they had the potato salad one.

The salad was a pleasant little surprise for me. I expected it to have one of two typical sauces: either the usual orange sauce usually seen in Japanese resturants or a bland diluted oil and vinegar sauce that tastes not far from a dish of leaves and water. Instead this salad had some sort of peanut sauce that tasted surprsingly good with the salad. Lettuce never tasted so good that wasn't in ceaser or italian.



On to the appetizer: THE MONKEY BALLS

Sorry I had already started to eat them before taking a picture ^^;

In caps because I am born in the monkey year of the zodiac and am partial to hilarious names involving monkeys and food. In other words, I couldn't resist.  Tiny sized balls were presented before us on a plate. Fried, delicious, and the slight tangy yet spicy orange sauce drizzled on top made it nearly perfect. My only problem was that there should have been more since the dish was a tad pricey in my book.

The yummy main dish: SEAFOOD JIGAE

Sorry for the bad phone photo quality. 

A small little black pot of bubbling tofu and another of softly smoking rice. Such a cute pair. The tofu was mildly spicy (just the right spice and temperature for my sensitive taste buds). There were two shrimps (still shelled) and two clams. I did not mind the small amount though I'd prefer my shrimps without the shell please. Unless that is some Korean tradition I am unaware of. The tofu stew itself had a nice light seafood flavor to it.

To put things short. I finished everything. Gone to very last drop of stew and bits of rice that I couldn't scrap out of the bowl. The portion was perfect. I do not like coming out of a place feeling over stuffed and this left me feeling satisfied and warm. The waiters were friendly when I asked for water, rather than some places where waiters don't even offer a smile.

As a quick run over:
-Good food
-Good Portions
-Cozy environment

I would suggest lunch time personally since I do like overcrowded environments, but I do like it when the store has people in there. I hear they do not have their liquor license yet so sorry, no late night Korean food and booze gatherings (just the Korean food).

Also, I found that the stew was very well priced (around 8 bucks) but the Monkey Balls were more than a normal appetizer price. It might be a bit pricey so I highly suggest using any coupon/deal you can get. Savings never hurt anyone.

Personally, since I am a student I got a discount using this coupon: here!

You can never have too much delicious Korean food. :)
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All finished!