So Gong Dong Tofu House — Restaurant in Palo Alto

One of the best places Korean food in South Bay Area... This is my goto place to have really amazing tofu based dishes... A really great option for vegetarians as well... If you come during peak hours, it's really well packed and you might have to end up waiting for a while till you get your table... If you don't want wait and want to slowly enjoy, off peak hours does the trick... I am not much of a Tofu lover, but this place just makes it amazing... This is one of the very few places, where non-vegetarians and vegetarians can enjoy equally...

I have tried the Crispy Tofu Pancakes, Assorted Mushroom Tofu Soup and the Rice, Beef and Vegetables Bibimbob and all of them were really great dishes... Crispy Tofu Pancakes was a unique experience... Crispy exterior with very soft inside...

Assorted Mushroom Tofu Soup is quite a healthy dish which taste amazing. It has cream texture and treats your mouth an exquisite flavor. It contains different kinds of mushrooms with tofu, which is as soft as butter.

The complimentary side dishes that are customary at Korean restaurants, is quite note worth here... Thy serve the typical selection including marinated potatoes, beansprouts, kimchi, egg and tofu bites, seaweed, korean glass noodles... Their potatoes have a great soft texture that really melts in your mouth and provides balance of sweet and savory... They are more than happy to refill them as long as you ask.

Just a point to note for first timers, their Hot is really super hot... I am a person who loves spicy food and even then, just HOT made me search for water quite often...

I am holding off on one star because of the lack of the staff can sometimes ignore you, especially when you go during non...

I love banchan!

Banchan is to Korean food as french fries are to hamburgers.

You just can't have a proper meal without it!

Here, the banchan are especially good. And they're free. AND they re-fill them, without question.

The potatoes are beautifully sweet, the cucumbers are crunchy and well marinated, as are the bean sprouts.

My favorite are the glass noodles. They remind me of being a little girl and trying them for the first time at my friend's house (she was Chinese), where her mom made these for us as a snack for our play date. Delicious!

The kimchee is sweeter than I have had, which I don't mind at all.

Have you had PURPLE rice? They have it here!

It's free with your meal, and arrives at the table immediately after the banchan, just before your entree.

The Seafood Pancake was fluffy, full of shrimp, and flavorful when dunked in soy/vinegar that came with it.

SoonDuBu (Tofu Soup) here is quite good. We got the Seafood Soft Tofu and Original Soft Tofu (spicy).

*Tip: If you've never had SoonDuBu, you might be confused as to why they give you a raw egg in a side dish. Crack that puppy over your soup! It will cook in the bubbling, hot mixture, and taste oh so good : )

Parking is a challenge, because their lot is packed (where do you think all of those people in the restaurant came from?)

It's chained off at one entrance on El Camino Way and at another entrance on El Camino Real, leaving one entry/exit point off El Camino Real. Keep that in mind when you park. There is also plenty of...

Nice outdoor tented dining area. Weather was warm and perfect.

Had 12 noon reservations for large party, pre-ordered individual meals. Food arrived right on time at 12noon, unfortunately not all the guests were prompt.

Total chaos ensued as servers just randomly placed items at place settings without asking what was ordered by the people currently seated, dishes were just plopped down without informing guests what they were. We could guess some, but not all. When we asked what the dishes were, they told us don't worry they'd sort it out after all the dishes were on the table. This totally didn't make sense when they could have slowed down and served the respective dishes to the guests present, then place there dishes for the pending guests where they would sit when they arrived. Which was basically what happened afterwards. There was a lot of shuffling of dishes between seats to get everyone the dishes they ordered once a more level headed worker arrived.

Despite the initial chaos, the food was excellent and bountiful. Generous servings, delicious flavors, great assortment of dishes.

The establishment was very accommodating and patient with our large party, family reunion, lots of picture taking, speeches, and socializing.

Thank goodness for the outdoor seating as their inside dining would never have accommodated our group...