Book Chang Dong

whenever i take the bus from dc to ny, we eat in ktown since it’s close to the bus stop. we decided to eat here on a whim, and i think it just opened up. in any case, it’s a chain of korean tofu soup (soon dubu) restaurants, and it wasn’t too shabby. i think they’re trying to make a good impression by giving out extra nice side dishes (banchan), like whole grilled fish for each person (small ones, mind you), which koreans tend to like (i know, i am one. and so are my parents. they would especially like the fish). we got the seafood soon dubu and LA galbi (korean bbq) and fried mandu (dumplings) for an appetizer. so the mandu’s were kind of a rip: 4 for like $ 6. and they weren’t extra special or extra large or extra anything. the galbi was good, nicely marinated, but a little fatty. oddly enough, for a place that specializes in soon dubu, it wasn’t all that great. i know places in annandale, va that have tastier soon dubu. all in all, good banchan and a satisfying meal, but nothing out of this world. oh right, my usual warning, make sure you wear clothes that you can wash right away since it’ll smell like smokey bbq.