So Kong Dong Tofu House — Restaurant in Edison

This is the second time I'm visiting this restaurant. My first experience was good. I went today to the restaurant with my mom and sisters and the waiter (a guy) was so mad. First I ordered 2 dishes because the third dish I choose was a cold noodles and I didn't know that so I asked him to get the 2 things for now and I'll keep one menu so that I can choose the 3rd one. When I first ordered 2 dishes he looked at me and said " only 2" and I said I have to decide which one I should get instead of the cold noodles. He already looked mad because we only ordered " 2 dishes". My mom said "why is he being so rude". Then I called him and ordered one more dish. I told him what I want and I said I'll keep the menu but he snatched the menu out of me. Then I didn't left any tip because the service was very very disappointing. First of all leaving a tip is my personal choice. Second of all I would leave a tip if the service was good. When I was about to leave he came back and asked for tip and he started to get really angry. My sister got scared and asked me to leave a tip and I left 2$. He got really mad and asked me to tip 11 $ and I said no. I asked him to take me to the manager so I can ask them if leaving a tip is your choice or my choice and he took me to the register and I started to explain them the situation and she said no english. wonderful. Then he called a lady from the kitchen and he said something to her angrily. She showed me the receipt and said you should leave a higher tip I asked her why? for his rude service. I told her he was so rude, he snatched the menu out of us. He got mad in front of my mom and sisters so why would I leave him a tip. He snatched the receipt out of my hand and asked me to leave.. I work at a restaurant. I don't go chase customers for not leaving a tip. It's their personal choice. This is my last time coming to this restaurant. I'm never ever coming to...

Tonight was the 3rd or 4th time I've eaten here. Without fail, the tofu soup hits the spot. Tonight's meal consisted of the Beef tofu soup and the Kimchi tofu soup.

I'm just an impatient eater....when the food comes out, I dig in immediately. The soup comes out boiling hot. With the hotness of the soup (temperature) and the hotness of the pepper, I'm usually drenched in sweat after I'm done.

But tonight was different. I was starving!!! Wasn't in the mood to have sweat dripping from my chin, so I just picked number two (mild). When my beef tofu soup came out, I went at it. It was perfect! I immediately cracked a raw egg in the soup, followed by some rice. I still managed to burn my tongue.

My date on the other other hand was a little more patient. She ordered the Kimchi soup with a spiciness of 4. She cracked her egg into the soup and patiently waited for it to cool while staring at me from across the table while I was struggling to stuff my face with very hot soup.

While she was staring at me, she helped herself to the side dishes that came with our soups. They included kimchi, bean spouts, kimchi pickles, a small salad and some tofu.

As I was finishing my meal, she started on hers. I politely asked to have a taste. She obliged. WOW!!!! It was amazing! It was nice & spicy just the way I liked it, but the soup wasn't boiling hot anymore and you can really taste all the flavors.

Now, it was my turn to stare at her eat. That got a tad boring; so I decided to admire the restaurant's decor. It's very contemporary, yet classy. Everything was kept extremely clean and neat. It has a very "homey" and welcoming feeling to it.

The best part? Two soups that completely made us extremely full came out to $20.

I will however have to deduct one star for the limited menu and of the MSG...

The place was pretty bad. The food was mediocre at best for the high price point. It came piping hot which I guess might be for visual appeal, however it was almost inedible for a while and even after 40 minutes, it was literally still steaming and hard to get down. In addition, we went during the summer and the AC was almost nonexistent, and along with the burning hot foods, made for a very sweaty and horrible experience. The decorations and furnishing is alright.

However, the staff, the service, was beyond terrible. The server didn't check up on us once during our hour there. Although it may be understandable if they were extremely busy, there weren't that many people there. After waiting 20 minutes we raised our hands and made direct eye contact with the waiter, who saw us and actively ignored and avoided us, going on to do absolutely nothing, not serving others, nothing. After this experience, we decided to tip 10%, as the service was not adequate. The server walked up to us as we were about to leave, counted the money, and said it was not enough, stating that they fed us "complementary side dishes" and as a result are expected to pay more. However, he himself did not serve us once, another server who worked that shift came and did everything that he was supposed to do, yet he took the tip money, and proceeded to keep us until we tipped their "minimum tip amount" of 18%. Why should one have to pay extra in "tips" for complementary side dishes I do not understand. As we left, no thank you, nothing, he just glared at us.

Overall, the food was alright, mediocre at best, but the environment and the service there is just terrible. And you have to PAY for that service. If you do come, just understand you will be forced to tip a minimum amount for bad...