Young Dong Tofu

Between the cold weather and my desire for soup-​based foods all the time, I found myself looking for a tofuhouse. I have always found BCD to be a bit overhyped, so opted for Young Dong Tofu which was only a block away. By the way, it’s now changed to Big Fat Bowl (according to the banner on the store) or Arirang Tofuhouse (according to the their menus). It’s a little confusing, but it doesn’t matter what it’s called as long as it’s good.
Upon walking in, we were seated right away and presented with two cups of hot tea and one cup of ice water. I’m not sure why they were missing one cup of iced water for two people, but no big deal. Since I only wanted the tofu and my friend only wanted the meat, we chose the combo to split. We ordered the spicy pork and extra spicy mushroom tofu soup combo ($ 18.99). Right after our order, the banchan arrived –the best part! They offered kimchi, spicy cucumbers, seaweed, beansprouts, sausages and a pancake. The biggest difference from BCD is that they give you a fried fish rather than a pancake, so depends on your preference. But free refills for all and that’s why Korean food is one of my favorites!
Soon enough, our sizzling dishes arrived! I love how hot and spicy the soup was. I’m not going to lie –the tofu was hella spicy, but hit the spot just perfectly. The soup was flavorful and the tofu was soft. I love the mixed of enoki and shiitake mushrooms as well. My only wish was for tofuhouses to be cheaper, but delicious nonetheless especially on a cold day.

This place was packed for dinner. We waited about 30min to get a seat for two. When we finally got seated, it took a long time for waiters to come around. IT was pretty frustrating.
I got a combination of spicy pork and tofu soup. The tofu soup tasted good, but felt like it lacked body. The spicy pork was average, nothing to write home about. For $ 19, i had higher expectations.
With the long wait times and mediocre food, this place was a disappointment for me.

My parents and I love to come here for lunch and dinner.
Their servers are always very sweet and attentive.
The tofu is not too salty (even if you get the seafood one) I love their panchan! What’s not to love about a restaurant that is clean, yummy and quick? Their price point is right ob the mark with all the other tofu houses in town.

Sadly this place has become a shell of its old self. They have recently changed owners, as a result the quality of their food and service has gone south. This is really disappointing to me as this was me and my girlfriend’s go to spot as it was close and delicious with superlative service. Sigh!

NOOOO! Please bring the previous owners back!!! I used to be a regular here because it was the best soon tofu restaurant hands down. But taste changed after the new ownership and now I’m lost. I’m so heart broken that I don’t have my favorite soon tofu place anymore!

We found this location to be a bit closer to my mom’s house than the one in Diamond Bar. However, the food was just as amazing. We arrive right when they opened at 11. Service was quick and food came out swiftly. Employees were nice and friendly. You will get full and you may even have left overs. Well worth the price for the portions.
The only reason I marked a star off was because once it got busy, we never really saw our server again. We had to ask both for more water and we had to get up and flag the server down for the check. Otherwise, this place is GREAT!

I am giving 2 stars as of the current state of the restaurant due to the greatness of my generous heart =). I have a gut feeling the ownership has changed or they changed policies.
I have been coming here for years and have always spoken well of this place but now it’s blatantly different. Despite my sister sitting on a dead roach once years back and sometimes having to wait 40+ mins for my tofu be served up I normally have great service and food here. Took Mom here for lunch but immediately noticed a difference. Service was sooo slooww (waited 25 mins for appetizers to be brought up and another 30 mins for our Soon tofu) and there are new hires that get all overwhelmed just because it’s «busy». Restaurant was probably half full.
The appetizers they serve used to be numerous and delicious but now narrowed down to very cheap quality kimchis and they even have one dish that’s some chopped up Spam or hot dogs. Our family loves the pickled cucumbers which are no longer available among 1 or 2 other things I cannot recall. It’s the feeling like they’re being cheap to save money which is understandable but replacing 3 appetizer dishes with some chopped up American supermarket hot dogs in a Korean restaurant is a huge red flag.

Rowland Heights aka mini Koreatown. One advantages of living out here in the 626 east is that you don’t need to go far to get good Very Asian food.
Young Dong is one of those more established names in the 626 where you mention the name, the locals will automatically think «that Korean tofu place?» A place that needs typically needs no introductions; but I’m going to give one anyway. Young Dong Tofu is probably best known for their Korean tofu dish called soondubu jjigae. You can get it in various flavors such as beef, seafood, kimchi, just to name a few. They also offer other Korean favorites such as Bibimbap– a signature Korean rice dish. The word literally means «mixed rice». Others may include bulgogi, galbi, spicy pork or chicken on a sizzling platter. These are just a few dish they offer. So far, there’s not one dish that I didn’t like.
On my visit to this location, I had order the Galbi Tang, which is a beef rib soup. A savory beefy broth topped with scallions and black pepper. It’s what I call Korean comfort food. When you eat it, feels like it warms the soul. The meat on the rib is fall off the bone tender. I love everything about this dish. A+ for taste and presentation. I think this was about $ 12 or $ 13.
Although some places include the fried yellow fish with their ban chan/​appetizers, this place does not. But they do have it for about $ 13. I really wanted that yellow fish and I’m glad I got it. The outside was nicely seasoned and crispy. The flesh was flaky and tender. There was zero hints of the fishiness. I love it.
Got the tofu with beef and octopus at the very spicy level. To me it wasn’t spicy. However it was packed with flavor. Paired very well with my white rice. The octopus was chewy while I could barely taste the beef; It doesn’t matter though, because I get this dish for the burning sensation while it trickles down my throat. Oh yes, it burns so good. Chinese proverb time! «The impatient heart can not eat hot tofu.» Let’s just say that my parents have said it to me many many times.
Overall, this restaurant had fairly good service and the food was solid. However it’s not my first choice for soondubu. Being in Rowland Heights, there are probably half a dozen places that serve this type of food within 1 – 2 mile radius. My personal favorite will still be BCD, it’s cheaper, opens late, and they’ve got this tofu business down to a science #realtalk.

They are doing fine in a cluster of tofu places. More meat and rice are cooked nicely. Tofu bowl is plenty and hearty and not watery.
Lose one star for not having fried fish among kimchi dishes.
Will return.

Nice place! Clean and big! The waitress is awesome! The seafood tofu soup is amazing! Deserve to haves try!

I’ve gotten take out and eaten at the restaurant a couple times. In general, I think the naengmyun is a good deal. Summer time prices at 7.99 per bowl means you can order 3 dishes for 2 people! Haha. #fattieprobz
The hot soups are also pretty good. The soon dubu is good for the area (my fave spots are still in ktown…)
The staff is nice and we have gotten good service repeatedly here.

Food is good, but service is lacking.
Nobody ever visited to refill our drinks, and getting our check took forever! When you’re eating hot soup and spicy side dishes, water is an absolute must, but we didn’t get any.
Really, aside from that, this place has typical Korean fare, decent quality. If you’re in a rush or drink a lot with your meals, don’t come here!

My actual rating: 3.5 Stars
I always have this crazy urge to eat at Gam Ja Gol and it happened to come around on a Monday –the ONLY day they’re closed. A friend suggested we come here to Young Dong Tofu; I was starving and in need of some yummy kimchi and I thought to myself, «It is pretty chilly out today, soon dubu sounds like a good idea.»
The service was typical (well, at least for me) and decent; the stand offish, don’t — make — eye — contact kind of service. It happens a lot to me at Asian restaurants since I don’t look it. I was just happy they didn’t try to take my chopsticks and give me a fork!
— Hot Stone Bibimbop w/​seaweed soon dubu
³⁄₅ I would have to honestly say I prefer BCD’s version of both these dishes.
— Galbi w/​mild soon dubu
³⁄₅ My friend seemed to really enjoy his food but I wasn’t impressed.
— Galbi Tang
3.5÷5 This had to be the highlight of the three entrees ordered. Too bad it wasn’t my order! Haha.
All the food was ok. Nothing spectacular or done extremely well, just ok. After tasting a little bit of everything I thought to myself, «I should have went to the Korean market and bought side dishes and made Jajangmyeon.» But I am glad I at least tried Young Dong Tofu so I can finally stop wondering, haha.

Yummm. After just getting back to LA at night after a crazy weekend in Vegas, my group really wanted some hot soupy food. We decided on tofu soup and ended up at Young Dong Tofu.
I’ve been to a lot of Korean Tofu Soup places, but I think Young Dong Tofu is one of the best if not the best tofu soup place I’ve been to.
The banchan was fresh and good. Especially their kimchi and cucumber kimchi. The seaweed was good too. They even give you pancake! Yummmm.
I ordered the seafood tofu soup (non-​spicy) hehe… I can’t eat spicy at all! But even though it was non-​spicy, there was still a lot of flavor in the soup! Lots of seafood, unlike some places that barely give any seafood in the tofu soup. The rice also comes in a stone pot which is cool because you can pour your tea in it and eat it with the crispy rice that is stuck on the sides of the stone pot.
Price is reasonable too. Great place for some soondubu!

Best Korean place in the entire SGV 626 area that I’ve tried! Definitely would come back!
Servers are super polite and nice! 5 stars for service!
I got the beef and seafood Soondubu and it was really good. They give you a ton of clams, way more than I’ve seen at other places! along with a standard of two shrimps. The Rice here is sooo good, perfectly cooked and fragrant in the stone pot. It has both white grains and some red/​purple grains. They have 6 – 7 side dishes including a fried pancake. Everything I’ve tried so far has been good, which includes the mixed seafood soondubu, bulgogi, kalbi, and bibimbap.

This place is pretty busy during the dinner time but I don’t mind waiting for some Korean Tofu or sometimes I switch i up and eat some hot stone Bimbimbap. Been here mainly with family like my aunts and uncles.
It’s a nice place to come and get some warm hot food when your feeling cold or craving some tasty veggies. I love the little sides that we get that is like my most favorite part when I eat at these Korean Tofu places.
Young Dong gave us really great service, even though they were busy we still got our food in a very timely manner and it was done right!
Parking is pretty big since it is shared with other people in the complex. So no need to worry about that.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a thousand times more — tofu should always be eaten hot and spicy. This Young Dong Tofu restaurant firmly believes in that too. Actually, they’ll support any level of spiciness that your heart desires.
I’m so picky when it comes to Soon Tofu. Lately, the only one I really like is the Ham & Cheese at Kaju Tofu Restaurant in Garden Grove. I ask for extra cheese and by the time you’re done, the spoon is just stuck with cheese. It’s so good that I haven’t really ventured out for new Soon Dubu places in a while.
VENUES
Locations include Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, and this Rowland Height location, which is in the same plaza as Newport Seafood Restaurant and Little Bean. What kinda sucks is they close early @ 9:30am each night. So it’s not 24 hours or open late like BCD. However, what gave this review an extra star is the variety of Korean food that they have besides the Sundubu Jjigae.
Hot Stone Bibimbap, Yukgaejang, Kalbi Tang, Spicy Pork, Pork Cutlet, Glass Noodle, Spicy Cold Noodle, Bulgogi, and Spicy Chicken are a few items I noticed on the menu. Plus, they got the combos too. The ones that consist of a smaller Soon Tofu paired with some kind of meat or entrée.
The ban chan looked clean. The bean sprouts were tasty, with the kimchee being flavored with some kind of seafood other than the usual salted shrimp or anchovies. Nurungji or toasted rice is also available. Liked the pancake they gave as an appetizer. When piping hot, it’s really rad.
The Soon Tofu here is not as authentic as the one at Beverly Soon Tofu Restaurant in LA, but right along the lines of Cho Dang Tofu House in Cerritos. That’s good enough for me and hopefully good enough for you.

Another restaurant in the neighborhood that sells soon tofu soup. I dont find anything unique about the soon tofu really because they all taste very similar. However, I do like certain dish from here. Their spicy cold noodle with veggies and donkatsu.
Ive had their donkatsu two times to be exact and I think the first time I tried was so much better. Better as in, the batter was more crunchy and less greasy. But I still think their batter is a little too thick compared to Wako in Koreatown. But this place doesnt specialize in Donkatsu and they are pretty decent. The price is on the higher side I guess. Its $ 11.89 or somewhere around there. It comes with a mini cabbage salad with dressing.
Jengban Bibim Nengmyun or simply spicy cold noodle with veggies is pretty good too. This is actually my boyfriend’s favorite here. It is served on this one quite big metal round tray with cold noodles with spicy sauce and LOTS of veggies. Spicy but not too spicy. You have to mix really well because I always end up eating the part with chunk of mustard or wasabi.
It was a little weird because first time I went they only gave us a salad and side dishes. When I went second time, they also gave us stonepot rice, seaweed soup AND some korean pancake. It seems weird because we ordered exactly the samething during our two visits. Maybe something has changed I dont know.
Ajumma waitresses are pretty attentive and nice. This place does get full so get there early if possible to avoid waiting.
Plenty of parking in the plaza but the spaces are pretty narrow and small I think.

I’ve been on a Korean tofu kick lately, but I was trying to avoid BCD Tofu House at all costs. As my friend said, «BCD is like the McDonald’s of Korean tofu.» …well then, LOL. Luckily for me, my hometown has this awesome gem of a sundubu jiggae restaurant right next to BCD.
The soup is what I’ve would’ve expected of any decent Korean tofu place: spicy and full of flavor. Kalbi was sizzling hot and really juicy. And the banchan, well… you COULD order as much as you want. Honestly though, between the tofu and the meat you’re going to be stuffed, guaranteed. In retrospect, the tofu soup is was probably enough… and even that would’ve been a lot.
Can’t really comment on how the service is because I came at the dead hour of Friday 2:30 PM. Even then, waiters always made sure everything was ok. Definitely will be making this a go-​to spot!

For me, the freebies make up at least half of the Young Dong Tofu dining experience.
Here’s what comes free (with your meal):
— Hot green tea
— Seaweed soup
— Salad
— Side dishes (kimchi, etc)
— Veggie pancake (!!!)
I ordered the cold bibimbap. It was delightful, but I ended up taking most of it home because I had filled up so much on the pre-​meal soup, side dishes, and pancake. I also tasted the mushroom soondubu, and it was really good! I’d like to come back for that.
Although there’s several servers, they seem to be disorganized, frazzled, and/​or otherwise unacceptable in their attentiveness. Additionally, there’s no little service button to press at the tables either, which would have been helpful.