Monday, 20 August 2012

Tennis, Tofu and Soju....In That Order!

And while the tennis matches at the London Olympics were being played, I suddenly had the urge to also play some matches, not just to win a gold, silver or bronze medal, but also to re-visit Sogang University and Sinchon!


A couple of weekends back, I paid a visit to Sogang University with my friend, Andrew, who graduated from Sogang-dae. And I thought, since it's the Olympics, I'd better not just visit the tennis courts, I should play in them!

Well, winning the gold medal wasn't really my priority. It was the tofu dinner after!  From Sogang-dae, we drove to the Sinchon area and looked for my favorite 'soon-dupu' restaurant! It's my favorite because the 'eggs-all-you-can' at the table!  Yes, you can put as many eggs as you wish into your tofu dish!

I was told eating too much eggs will cause your cholesterol to rise, but....who cares?? Ha-ha-ha!

I had to crack three eggs and let them all join the boiling hot pot of tofu! I stirred and stirred...and stirred some more!
My soon-dupu finally turned orange-y!  And with the eggs cooked, my bowl got texture!
Oh my! I couldn't wait to taste it, but I just had to be careful. It was boiling hot!

And spoonful by spoonful, I enjoyed my favorite Korean dish (one of the many favorites, actually!) which I haven't had in a  long time! I definitely would want to come back here again soon! The spiciness of the broth, which now became thicker with the cooked eggs, and the bland tofu curds mixing on my palate alongside some seafood, veggies and other ingredients were like a festival of tastes in my mouth! Ha-ha-ha!
And after we were done with dinner, we walked around and decided to get some soju

And an idea for a place came from a guy who was on the sidewalk giving away business cards for a bar. He was like a walking marketer, aggressively advertising his bar to passers-by.

And since the bar was just nearby the restaurant, we just walked up the stairs and found a comfortable seating amidst groups of friends who were partying (and drinking!) the Saturday night away!
I told Seung-ho and Lowell, my tennis friends, that it's difficult for me to get drunk. I don't know why. Maybe it's all the drinking around me that got my tolerance to alcohol that high.

Although we ordered soju, until now, I am not sure why they serve fruit cocktails to go with alcoholic drinks here in Korea. These fruit cocktails always end up as dessert in the Philippines if you mix it with Nestle cream and Alaska condensed milk. Ha-ha-ha!
After hours on the tennis court and even longer hours chatting (and sometimes not understanding what the other was saying), we decided to call it a night. A Saturday night, to be exact. But Seung-ho still wanted to eat! So, he ordered what to me is the most boring Korean food, tteok-bokki.

Oh well, we let him. Ha-ha-ha!

Of all the three, tennis, tofu and soju, it's the tofu dinner that was sooo enjoyable for me. I still could not believe in their idea of letting the customer crack as many eggs as he can and put them into his tofu dish! 

In other restaurants, I only I get one fresh egg in my tofu dish, but this Dolkemaeul Tofu House in Sinchon is definitely my favorite. They don't care about their customer's cholesterol. But what they care about is customer satisfaction. And that's what good business should always be about!

Definitely going back there again. After my annual medical check-up. Ha-ha-ha!

PS.
Dolkemaeul Tofu House is behind the Hyundai Department store (Sinchon Station, Line 2, Exit 1). If you're standing at the back area of the department store, look to your left and you will see the restaurant. It has two storeys. You can forget your cholesterol count, but not its name. Enjoy!

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