The one Korean dish that I enjoy for the level of comfort it brings is the Soontofu, the soft tofu stew with ingredients such as seafood and vegetables in a spicy broth.
“Soon” in Korean means “soft”.
SBCD Korean Tofu House is one of the few Soontofu specialty restaurants in Singapore, with branches at Tanjong Pagar Centre and a newly opened outlet at Millenia Walk.
The Millenia Walk branch was HUGE (at least in Singapore’s context), with spacious interior, tall ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and open kitchen concept where you can observe the team of chefs preparing the soups.
Don’t have to worry smelling like Korean stew as you walk out as the space is ventilated enough.
One important highlight: At the back of the Korean restaurant is where the soft and silken tofu is made FRESH daily. The tofu you are eating is made right in the morning.
The chefs from SBCD use special soybeans imported from Paju, South Korea. The area is said to be close to Korea’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and contains the freshest-tasting produce due to the untouched nature.
Surprise, surprise. The Korean restaurant has also introduced NEW Jang-Eo (장어) dishes – fresh water eel imported from Korea.
While the Jang-Eo is popular during the hot summer days in Korea, you seldom see it in Singapore, at least not yet.
The NEW menu will comprise of 4 new Jang-Eo dishes including three under the dine-in menu and one for takeaway. Here are the food items you can expect:
Unagi Main on Hotplate ($19.90++, with Soju $29.80++)
The Koreans love their Jang-Eo – freshwater eel marinated in novelty sauces, with savoury and delicate taste.
Called the “Jangeo-gui” which literally translates to “grilled eel”, the Koreans believe that eating this dish can help improve stamina and prevent heat exhaustion during hot summer days.
However, Singaporeans are more likely familiar with the Japanese “Unagi”, which can be similar. Therefore, the restaurant chose to call these dishes “Unagi” in the introduction phase.
When the sizzling hotplate dish arrived, I could not tell initially what the difference was, at least purely from appearance.
The portion should leave an impression, so much for $19.90. Reasonably inexpensive.
The eel cut up to several small pieces, had a satisfyingly soft texture, mild richness, and sticky sweet taste from the sauces.
They were thick yet tender, very tasty when eaten hot with rice. (The differences between this and the usual unagi to me, is that the pieces were softer without that crispy outer layer.)
The Unagi Main on Hotplate can also be ordered paired with your favourite Soju.
Unagi Soontofu Combo ($39.90)
For a first timer to SBCD, I could recommend the Unagi Soontofu combo which allows you to try the best of both worlds.
The set contains a slightly smaller portion of Unagi on hotplate, with bubbling spicy soft tofu soup on the side.
Hot and comforting on one hand, delicious and filling on the other.
Unagi Hot Stone Rice (Top up $8.00 and upgrade from soups/combo regular hot stone white rice)
The dish includes thick-chunky pieces of the grilled eel, paired with strips of egg on rice cooked in hot stone.
The special price is available for a limited time as part of the launch offer.
Unagi Rice Bowl ($5.90, takeaway only)
For friends working around Tanjong Pagar and Millenia Walk who want a fuss-free, inexpensive lunch option, then the Unagi Rice Bowl for takeaways is really a good deal.
Only $5.90!
Soontofu
For those who have yet to try SBCD’s Soontofu, here’s a brief introduction of the signature dish.
The Soontofu is essentially a Korean spicy stew, prepared in 4 levels of spiciness – mild, medium, spicy and crazy hot. If you are used to spiciness, then “crazy hot” should also be manageable. (There is a Sesame Soontofu with no spice added in the broth.)
What I think is the key selling point is the tofu itself.
While many other Korean restaurants serve Soontofu as part of an extensive menu, SBCD specialises in just that. I respect the amount of resources and effort taken to make the tofu fresh in-house daily, from using some of the best beans.
The broth is made using a 10-ingredient secret recipe, put to boil, then left to set for a couple of days to bring out the full flavours of the ingredients without having to add artificial flavouring.
Choices include Original Beef ($18.90), Original Pork ($18.90), Seafood ($19.90), Oyster ($26.90), Abalone ($29.90), Intestines ($19.90), Dumpling ($19.90), Fishcake ($19.90) and a non-spicy sesame ($17.90).
The Assorted ($19.90) is one of the best sellers, which provide a variety of ingredients of beef, clams, crab, shrimp, and squid.
During my last visit I had a Ham & Cheese Soontofu ($19.90), and ended up happier that the “ham” was actually Korean spam – a better treat for me. The broth was served bubbling hot in a earthenware bowl, in which a raw egg would be added, and cooked from the heat within the bowl.
As part of the Korean tradition, rice is served in a hot stone bowl.
While I noticed some diners eating from the hot stone bowl itself, what SBCD would recommend is to scoop rice into the metal bowl.
A layer of crusted rice would usually remain at the base of the hot stone bowl, whereby you can add corn tea into the mixture.
Cover it up, and you would get some rice porridge (“nurungji”) to conclude the meal.
Combo Meal
Other than Soontofu, there are other offerings of favourite Korean meat dishes such as L.A.
Galbi, Spicy Grilled Chicken, and Spicy Baby Octopus.
They can be ordered as a combo meal with Soontofu soup or as a main dish.
Banchan
You would also notice that their banchan, which are side dishes served free, is different from the usual.
Other than kimchi, seaweed, pickled green chilies and spicy squid strips, the best part to me was the deep fried whole croaker fish with the fluffy crispy texture.
SBCD Korean Tofu House
Tanjong Pagar Centre, 7 Wallich Street, #B1-01/02, Singapore 078884 (Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Tel: +65 6873 6441
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10:00pm (Mon – Sun)
Reservation@SBCD.com.sg
https://www.facebook.com/SBCDSingapore
www.sbcd.com.sg
Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Blvd, #01-114, Singapore 039596
Tel: +65 6873 6441
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 10:00pm (Mon – Sun)
* This entry is brought to you in partnership with SBCD.
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