Myung Dong Tofu House - Seattle

First, thank you so, so much for your encouraging and sweet comments on Monday's art post! Reading them really made my evening! I will definitely be posting more of that in the future. =) Now, on to the food!

As a student at the University of Washington, I lived in Seattle's University District for four years. Restaurants and businesses would come and go frequently on the Ave (main street in the U-District). Someone once told me that businesses on the Ave only last an average of 10 years.

During my junior/senior year of college, a new business opened that completely changed my eating habits. The U-District was full of Thai, Japanese, Greek, Indian food, and more... but not Korean food. And then Myung Dong Tofu House opened just off the Ave, on 42nd & Brooklyn. Delicious food, cute little family-owned restaurant... and it was less than a block from my apartment. What's not to love?

I started eating there. A lot. At least once a week. Just to clarify, the food options are not limited to tofu. They do specialize in tofu soup, though, which is one of my favorite foods in the world. One thing I love about going to Korean restaurants here is the little "appetizers" of sorts that they bring out before your meal. All complimentary.

David, one of my best friends from high school, moved to the Seattle/Tacoma area (okay, he moved a year ago but we keep forgetting we live in the same area now). We decided to catch up over dinner, so of course I picked the Tofu House! I've missed it tremendously since leaving the U-District.

Clockwise from left: Two types of kimchi, bean sprouts, potato in sauce (tastes like soy sauce), green onion pancake

I ordered the vegetable tofu soup. I used to get the beef tofu soup before I stopped eating meat (other than seafood) - so good. With the vegetable tofu soup, they asked if I wanted water instead of the beef broth, and I said yes. It was still good, although not quite as tasty. However, I did also ask for mild spiciness since I'm a total spiciness wimp. So it would probably be tastier with more spice. They drop a raw egg in (if you want), which you mix into the soup so it cooks and looks a bit like the egg in egg drop soup.

 Can you tell it was really hot? It was hard to take a picture through the steam!

David got a mixed bowl dish with beef. This bowl was huge! You can't really see but it also has a purple rice in it... taro rice maybe? (If anyone knows what it might be, let me know.) The rice is so, so good. I got a bowl of it on the side of my soup too.

Our meal was delicious! They brought us a second round of the appetizers too because somehow, David was still hungry...

Can't wait to go back! Yum! Have you tried Korean food/tofu soup?