Title: PyeongChang Tofu House
Author: jean komatsu
Last saved by: ENU

Effective 2013, the restaurant has changed its name to PyungChang Tofu House.

PyeongChang Tofu House
4701 Telegraph Avenue @47^th St., Oakland, CA
http://pyeongchang.orengeo.com/Clients/pyeongchang/productDisplay1.aspx 
Review date: August 2012

We have walked by this Korean restaurant in the Temescal several times. A four-star review in Yelp intrigued us, so we finally managed to work it in for lunch.

Mountainous Pyeongchang, often called the "Korean Alps", will soon be famous as the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Like many short-summer Asian regions, their cuisine is based on buckwheat. This area is also famous for producing the dried fish (pollack, from Russia) known as hwangtae, which is one of the mainstays of Korean cuisine.

It's worthwhile taking the time to read a bit about Korean food, which has many more noodle and flour-based dishes than we usually see in our local restaurants. Many of the dishes on these two blog entries are unfamiliar to us in America, and quite intriguing: http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/korean-food-101/pyeongchang-buckwheat-cuisine/ and http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/korean-food-101/my-south-korean-mouth/. 

Pyeongchang Tofu House is small but surprisingly pleasant inside, a welcome change from the characterless cheap chairs-and-table décor of the average Asian restaurant. All the tables and (uncomfortable) benches are thick slabs and trunks of polished wood, heavy and substantial. Although several Yelpers have reported some issues with the waitstaff not speaking English very well, our lunchtime waitress was brisk, cheerful and efficient.

Those readers who click on the "menu" link above will notice that PT's menu is fully illustrated but actually quite short. As we had come for the tofu soup – one of Carlos' favorite dishes – this didn't bother us. I ordered the bulgogi, and he chose the beef dumpling tofu soup, medium heat.

The ban chan, multiple 'side dishes', were...interesting. I thought they were good, Carlos didn't care for them. There were only seven and the selection was unusual. The kimchi and mung bean salad were typical of the genre. 

The others were:
•	Boiled teriyaki potatoes. These weren't as good as the ones Seoul House/Oakland used to make. Seoul House would lightly deep-fried smaller chunks, then braise them in teriyaki sauce, which gave them more textural interest. 
•	Shredded parboiled daikon in a sweet vinegar dressing. I never find daikon particularly interesting, so this was okay but nothing more.
•	Chili zucchini pickle, cut fairly thick. We've had this at a couple of other Korean restaurants. Again, okay but not our favorite veggie side dish. We prefer the cucumber pickles that most places serve.
•	Braised sweet eggplant in a chili-miso dressing. This was a stand-out! I loved this, and although I'm normally not a miso fan, I would love to have this again.
•	Sliced bamboo shoot in a sweet-jalapeno pickle. Also a stand-out, with a generous amount of sliced pickled jalapenos. 

We finished a couple of the ban chan and the waitress immediately replenished those items. This was unusual; we've always had to ask for refills before. 

When the food came, I was surprised to receive a small bowl of vegetarian tofu soup. It was 'mild', which means reasonably spicy by American standards. PT doesn't seem to dumb down the chile heat, as so many other Korean restaurants do.

My entree came on the now-standard iron platter, on a bed of raw cabbage. The bulgogi didn't taste like any version we'd ever had before. It had the definite taste of what the Chinese call "red cooking" – a braising sauce based on five spice, dark soy, and rice wine. Tasty in itself, but there was no caramelization from the platter because of the cabbage, so the texture and end result was like boiled beef. 

Despite the menu photos, the soup casseroles are actually modestly sized, ideal for an individual serving. Carlos' beef and dumplings had a much richer broth than mine did, with the same ultra-fresh custard tofu we love. However, the dumplings were, like the ban chan, not quite what we were expecting. They were shaped just like tortellini, but the filling was not a ground meat filling. Instead, it was some kind of paste – we have no idea what kind but possibly a mung bean paste, mixed with a bit of chopped pickled vegetable. Carlos didn't care for them, but everything else about the soup was great.

Interestingly enough, the rice came in a stone bowl, meaning that when the waitress scooped out the two bowls of rice for us, she left behind the wonderful crust of toasted rice that forms in the serving bowl. Since we'd had breakfast that morning, we weren't hungry enough to do what we would have normally done – put the tofu soup into the stone bowl so it could soften up all that crusty rice. Yum!

With its limited menu, I can't see us going back often to PyeongChang Tofu House. It will never replace the long-closed Seoul House/Oakland in our hearts, so our search for a favorite Korean restaurant will continue. But especially in cold weather, Carlos is eager to try the seafood tofu soup here. We'll be back to explore more of the menu.

Two people, lunch: two entrees, with tip was $38.50.