So Gong Dong Tofu & BBQ

We really love this place! Come if you are ready for a gigantic bowl of super hot delicious tofu soup and noodles. I love the noodle and dumpling combo with their udon «kalguksu» type noodle.
Banchan is only veggies but quite refreshing and delicious. They also refill often without you asking. Kimchi, cucumber, bean sprout, and daikon

Service was not that good and they messed up on the order as well. Also the waitress didn’t understand what an egg was which was missing from the meal.

Came here for the first time today. Seated promptly and water was brought quickly. Being a hot day, I drank down the water while I looked to see what I wanted to order.
Tried the Seafood Tofu soup — Spicy. It was very good. Very spicy and came out in a boiling pot. It was also nice to have all the extra sides. The spicy cucumbers and the kimchee were my favorites. The mung beans were good and had some garlic to them. Yum. The raddish and jalapeño needs a bit more rice wine vinegar and more jalapenos.
Soup was full of flavor. The server told me to crack the raw egg into the boiling soup. Did that and it made the soup taste better. I ate most of the bowl, but it was too much for me. Brought some back to the office for tomorrow’s lunch.
The best part of eating there. I walked out thinking I had everything. To my amazement, I didn’t have my credit card. Thank you to the server who found it and ran out to catch me. That is true customer service.

Easy to order Korean food that is very tasty! I can take my American and Asian family and friends here and they are happy.
Menu has the basic choices so it is easy to make a decision. I’ve been to other Korean restaurants and overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to order.
I suggest:
Beef and seafood soup with noodles — it has soft tofu too.
Seafood Pancake — there is a sauce with sesame seeds that you eat with this. We will get this as an appetizer or it can be a meal.
Oyster soup with rice — rice is in a separate hot stone bowl. Let the rice cook against the side of the bowl. Add a little hot water in the bowl to loosen and drop those crispy rice chunks in your soup for texture. Sounds weird but really it is Yum! My kids look forward to it! Haha
Pick your spice level for any soup.
I go here all the time — lots of Koreans eat here I know it is good!

Outside of Duluth, this is the best soft tofu place. You can add virtually anything to your choice of soup. They also have traditional Korean staples, such as bibimbap and galbi (short ribs). The best part is probably their side dishes. Fresh, properly portioned, and delicious! The staff is always friendly and the food comes out quick. The only thing preventing it from a five star rating is that they use a little too much salt in their soups, but most people won’t mind.

I’m giving this place 3 stars because I thought it was just average. It’s not as good as some other Korean restaurants in the area.
Cons:
— No fish as the starting dish, which I was looking forward to (Which most Korean restaurants like these give)
— The kimchi was just not delicious
— The chicken in the Chicken Bibimbap (Great Dish) was just too sweet
Pros:
— The Beef Soondubu was just what I expected (Regular isn’t spicy)
— The Sevice was really good — I gave a 25% tip
— The atmosphere is good and very clean
— Authentic, at least my korean freinds think so

I don’t know why this place doesn’t get enough reviews. I love coming here to get my Kbbq fix. So many great side items and they refill for free. Plus this is by far the best Korean restaurant I’ve ever been to bc of their nice staff and great service.

Our server was not very courteous. He seemed to be in a bit of a rush even though we were the only table there (off peak hours). Aside from that the food was delicious. Nice big portions. I’ll definitely go back

I usually don’t write negative reviews. But I just had too.
So I placed an order to-​go, (spicy tofu soup *seafood and beef*) with also an order of spicy rice cake.
The spicy rice cake (it comes with fish cakes and dumpling as well! ^_​^) tastes REALLY good. Probably the only tasty thing.
As I tried the soup. Well let’s say it tastes like soap water. There was no spice, there was no flavor from the seafood and beef. Literally, the moment I took a sip and it tastes straight up like sink water made me cringe. I had my mom and dad taste it (and usually they love everything they eat) they both made a disgusted face.
I don’t know if it’s because I placed a to-​go order or something but the soup was literally not edible AT ALL.
:(

I went here with my boyfriend, aunt and parents on Christmas Day for dinner. My mom had chungookjang (a Korean bean paste soup known for it’s smell– in a not good way), boyfriend had Kalbi and the rest of us had tofu stew– my dad with rice and my aunt and I with kalguksoo (literally translated knife noodles). The taste of the tofu stew was really good. It had just the right amount of salt and spice. I was really surprised. The noodles were perfectly cooked, still had some bite to it and not too soft. The rest of the table liked their food too. My boyfriend said the Kalbi was delicious, but he kind of also says that about any kind of meat so it’s hard to tell, lol. The seafood in my aunt’s stew was plentiful and she was happy as a clam. My dad’s didn’t look as full of seafood and his lacked some, but he was still happy. I had kimchi and beef in my mine. Not much of either in my stew, but it was still tasty so I didn’t care. :)
You can pick what add ins you want in your tofu stew. Like beef, pork, seafood, etc. You can pick if you want it with rice or ramen or kalguksoo. You also get to pick the level of spiciness. Kind of really caters to your taste buds.
Service was just ok. They never really came by to check on us considering the restaurant was basically empty, but we had the handy dandy table bell, so we just rang them when we needed something. The banchan was somewhat lacking. There were only four things. From what my folks told me — it’s always the same and doesn’t change. That being said, my dad likes the banchan (but not the cabbage kimchi). He usually doesn’t like the banchan at restaurants at all. (My mom spoils him.) So for him to like any banchan at a restaurant means they must be doing something right. The cucumber kimchi is the best banchan they have. It is vinegary, sweet, but not spicy. Which is good. No one needs a meal where every element tastes exactly the same. I think they executed it well.
Their food comes out rather quickly and they are efficient. Portion sizes are generous. The food was better than most of the Korean restaurants I’ve been to, so we are definitely going back again. I liked the kalguksoo noodles with tofu stew so much! Soft tofu stew and noodles — two of my favorite things. I don’t know why I didn’t think about doing this at home!
FYI– my parents said the food tastes a lot better now than it did when they first opened. Apparently it was horrible in the beginning. They were pleasantly surprised. Just as I was :)
If you like kalguksoo and tofu stew you should go, it absorbs the flavor of the tofu stew — so yummy!

Soup was flavorless. I did enjoy the ramen in the soup but I felt the soup should’ve had more of a flavor to it. It was missing the thickness.

My first time eating here. Their tofu soup was mediocre, nothing special. However, their food quality was good and the side dishes were pretty tasty compared to other Korean restaurants around the area. I definitely enjoyed their combination menu that serves their famed tofu soup with a choice of Korean bbq dish.

I completely forgot to review this place. It’s been a while since I checked in, but I went here with my wife during a business trip for lunch. This place is awesome! Everything looked good and tasted so good! If I’m ever back in the area, I will definitely be stopping by for a meal!

I was really impressed with the quality of food here. The tofu soup was very good. Just watch out when u order extra hot because it will be hot as hell. The food can be slow depending on when you go. Sometimes it’s very packed. Overall I’m glad this new place is open close enough for lunch

I come here for soondubu when I don’t feel like putting up with the wait at So Kong Dong over on Buford Highway. This restaurant has awesome service! Food is just as good and they let you substitute rice for noodles as well. Will keep coming here!

Decent place for some soondubu, but definitely just average. I always get the spicy flavor, and always kind of feel like I’m just drinking spicy water. The rice does come in a stone pot, but it’s hit or miss. Sometimes the rice is nice and cooked to the sides getting this nice crispy flavor. Other times its like they just plopped it in there for aesthetics. If you’re in need of a soondubu fix in the area, then I’d recommend this place, but if you have some time to spare, I’d look elsewhere.

First time here, and service was nice. I ordered a veggie tofu soup ramen, n bf ordered seafood tofu soup, on a cold day this place really hit the spot. food was good, will def come back to try the bibimbap that the table behind us had!

I’ve only had take out here. So my review is based solely on food.
The soondubu is my favorite korean food to eat. It’s just so warm and hearty. So Gong Dong’s tofu soup if definitely on par and good enough to rival some of the best tofu houses on Buhi and Pleasant Hill area. I even got my non-​Asian coworkers eating it.
The bibimbap was a little different than most bibimbaps I’ve eaten. They did not give me red pepper paste, and instead gave me a different type of sauce/​seasoning. While I liked the dish, it just did not seem traditional to me.
I plan on eating here more often, and recommend other to try it.

So Gong Dong Tofu & BBQ is a Korean restaurant franchise from New York. It opened in Suwanee on May 5, 2014. It’s located in the Assi Plaza shopping center on Old Peachtree Road, just off I-​85 exit 109. Along with the supermarket, there are many Korean businesses and restaurants in this shopping center. So Gong Dong also has locations in New Jersey and Chicago. It’s not to be confused with So Kong Dong, which is a Korean restaurant on Buford Highway in Atlanta.
Speaking of So Kong Dong on Buford Highway, So Gong Dong is cut in the same mold — a tofu house. Other notable/​popular tofu houses in metro Atlanta that come to mind are Cho Dang Tofu House (also on Buford Highway) and Book Chang Dong (Pleasant Hill Rd, Duluth). So Gong Dong sets itself apart from the competition by being a more «modern» tofu house. While the aforementioned businesses have been in the Atlanta area for many years and are showing their wear, So Gong Dong looks fresh and new.
What I mean by «modern» above is the menus are nicely designed with colorful pictures and both Korean and well-​written English text. The restaurant design and architecture still resemble a traditional Korean tofu restaurant (combination of stone, wood, and wallpaper), except more spacious and open. The atmosphere is casual and the latest Korean pop (K-​pop) hits play over the speakers. There are semi-​private rooms ideal for group/​family meals. I love the porcelain/​stone sundubu bowls used for decorations on the walls.
So Gong Dong sells sundubu jjigae (tofu stew), bibimbap (Korean mixed rice), Korean BBQ (galbi — beef short ribs and bulgogi — marinated meats), and other Korean foods like seafood pancake, topokki (rice cakes), dumplings, soybean noodles, and naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles). The tofu stew and bibimbap are customizable and are priced differently at lunch ($ 8.95 each) and dinner ($ 9.95 for tofu soup, $ 10.95 for bibimbap).
You can get all sorts of ingredients in your stew or rice bowl: beef, pork, chicken, seafood, clams, oysters, kimchi, veggies, etc. You can have your tofu stew served with kalguksu (wheat noodles) and even ramen noodles. Bibimbap is served in regular or stone bowls. Korean BBQ costs about $ 13 – 17 per plate and other dishes are in the $ 10 – 12 range.
In general, I think the food here is good. So Gong Dong is a fine choice if you’re in the area. However, in comparison to other tofu houses in and around Atlanta (of which there are many good ones), So Gong Dong’s food rates about average. There’s a certain characteristic to the food which makes it feel more generic or formulaic than authentic or homemade.
Four banchan (complementary Korean side dishes) are included and served with each meal. Banchan I’ve seen here include pickled bean sprouts, spicy cucumbers, marinated daikon with jalapenos, and kimchi. The banchan is OK. Freshness varies. I like the kimchi, which is an essential dish. Bad kimchi can really throw a place off. The kimchi here is crisp and flavorful.
If you like Korean BBQ, you probably won’t be disappointed with the beef bulgogi. It consists of marinated strips of sirloin steak served sizzling on a hot iron plate straight out the kitchen.
So Gong Dong serves one of my favorite Korean dishes which is mul naengmyeon. This is an icy cold noodle soup. Some people prefer to eat it in the summertime when it’s hot outside. I like to eat it year-​round. It consists of a bowl of buckwheat noodles, half a boiled egg, julienned cucumbers, sliced Korean pear, and cold boiled beef topped with sesame seeds. The broth has chunks of soft crushed ice in it.
The noodles are served with two condiments: spicy mustard oil and vinegar. I like to add both, in sometimes copious amounts. It makes the already tangy broth even tangier and a bit spicy too. Combined with the noodles and other ingredients, it’s simply delicious. It’s worth noting that So Gong Dong uses softer buckwheat noodles instead of the darker, significantly chewier arrowroot noodles that other Korean restaurants commonly use.
The bimbimbap is A-​OK. Unlike other places, they serve the rice in a bowl separate from the other ingredients. Standard bibimbap ingredients include egg, shredded carrots and daikon, mushrooms, cucumber, zucchini, bean sprouts, and greens. Mix everything together and you have yourself a rather tasty and satisfying meal. Gochujang (spicy red chili pepper paste) is optional and recommended. The bibimbap at So Gong Dong is served with a small side of an egg drop-​like soup.
Service is outstanding. The manager and servers take good care of their customers. I think this is the only Korean restaurant I’ve been to where servers bring out fresh trays of banchan to each table, offering refills. Typically, banchan refills have to be requested.

The service was great and attentive. The food wasn’t superb (but still delish), but the service made up for it and bumped the review up a star. My bro and I were having a sibling date, and I took him here because I wanted to expose him to Korean food. Well, I saw that this place was new and so I went for it. The restaurant opened its doors July of 2014 (I think).
The servers were super sweet. This one guy (I think he was the host) even came over and arranged and re-​arranged our plates and silverware after the food came out. The guy literally moved and positioned our spoons, bowls, and food to its proper place. Lol! It was too funny.
We both shared the seafood pancake and tofu soup. For the soup, we choose the beef and seafood meat base, regular for the level of spiceness, and the long noodles as the side item. [They added the noodle in the soup even though they called it a side item] I think if we had chosen the rice then it would have been better. The noodles didn’t absorb the soup base very well so it wasn’t a superb meal. Overall, both entrees were pretty tasty. Oh. There is the typical Korean BBO as well if you’re wondering.
Overall a cute and cozy place. Parking was plentiful since it is located in a large complex. If you’re looking at the supermarket Assi, the restaurant is to its right near the corner. It’s near Hansel and Gretal Bakery.