KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — When I first tried my hand at food writing, my debut piece was about porridge.
It was a personal essay on how I came to love something I had once hated, and it was moderately well-received by friends and family.
Buoyed by that blockbuster success, I stuck to the Hollywood sequel formula: the same story, just with a different lead.
This time, the central character was tofu, a food I had a hate-hate relationship with growing up.
“Bland,” “boring,” and “uninspired” were words I had once used to describe tofu, but this time they were used to describe my writing. “Derivative and overly prosaic” was another banger.
Oh, sorry, am I doing it again?
Anyway, I buried it with the tatters of my young and fragile ego, but today I’m resurrecting it for Dubu Dubu Restaurant.
The interior of Dubu Dubu. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Located on the second floor of a shoplot in Desa Sri Hartamas (above Buldojang, which shares the same owner), the restaurant serves Korean food with fresh, house-made tofu at its heart.
The offerings aren’t quite as extensive as the tofu challenge on Culinary Class Wars, but the pork-free menu still includes a variety of hearty dishes like sotbap (Korean pot rice), jorim (simmered and reduced stew), jeongol (Korean hotpot) and the most recognisable Korean stew, jigae.
First to materialise was some free banchan, which featured all the usual pickly, crunchy suspects, plus a plate of crispy, deep-fried tofu cubes in a sweet sauce.
I’m a firm believer that tofu has the potential to be delicious when fried, and the dubu buchim (RM35) is a great example of that.
These are blocks of firm tofu, pan-fried and infused with the fragrant, nutty aroma of perilla oil (a classic Korean ingredient with similar uses to sesame oil), served with a spicy and savoury soy dip on the side.
Since it’s tofu, there’s not a whole lot of Maillard reaction happening, but there’s just enough caramelisation for one side of the block to take on a distinctly “crisp-adjacent” texture.
‘Banchan’ includes a deep-fried tofu dish. — Picture by Ethan Lau
More importantly, the tofu is a great vessel for both the oil and the dipping sauce.
No Korean tofu-centric meal is complete without the most iconic tofu dish: sundubu jigae (RM32).
This really should be the restaurant’s signature, considering it can only be made with freshly curdled extra-soft tofu (sundubu) and is the ideal showcase for tofu’s textural versatility.
The crumbled curds have the appearance of soft feta, but the mouthfeel is far lighter and almost… creamier.
Clams and shrimp (typical for seafood sundubu jigae) round out the rest of the contents, imparting a delicate sweetness to the hot, but not overwhelmingly fiery, broth.
‘Dubu buchim’ is a tasty snack of pan-fried tofu with aromatic perilla oil. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The solid tofu blocks are still a great vessel for the soy dipping sauce. — Picture by Ethan Lau
It doesn’t look like much, but the freshly curdled ‘sundubu’ is the star of the show. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The final touch is a raw egg cracked on top just before serving, lending a rich, velvety finish to the entire affair.
All that’s left is to devour this generous portion with steaming hot rice.
A left-field but inspired choice, if you find yourself here with an immature tofu hater (me, as a child), is the komak bibimbap (RM33).
Kkomak is Korean for blood cockles, better known to us as siham. Here, they’re cooked with a truckload of chives in what seems to be a gochujang-based sauce. And my word, it’s addictive.
For those who don’t enjoy tofu, the ‘komak bibimbap’ is a great alternative. — Picture by Ethan Lau
There’s only the slightest hint of the metallic, “bloody” taste of siham, balanced out by the pungent chives, and the bowl of seaweed and tofu soup on the side is surprisingly flavourful – likely thanks to anchovies.
I was surprised at how full – practically bursting at the belt – I was at the end of the meal.
I can’t remember the last time tofu left me feeling sloth-like, the way an inordinate amount of meat might – and without the funky meat sweats, I might add.
The restaurant is located on the second floor, above Buldojang. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Dubu Dubu Restaurant
14-2, Jalan 24/70a,
Desa Sri Hartamas,
Kuala Lumpur
Open daily, 11am-9.30pm.
Closed on Wednesday.
Tel: 03-6211 9405
Instagram: @dubudubu_kl
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.
