chodanggol 초당골 — Restaurant in Pearland

Background: Tofu Town sits in the same plaza as Pho Saigon, specifically where Pizza Stone Pizza use to be. Was very eager to try out the restaurant during the soft open, but the wait was way too long for the kids.

Review: Today, I managed to sneak in to order to-go, consisting of Japchae and 2 tofu soups. The wait seemed to take a little bit of time (20 mins) considering there was only 1 table. I had sat at the bar to wait and learned from the bartender that this restaurant was a franchise version of Tofu Village so that was pretty reassuring that the food would be equal or better to that of the Bellaire location. When I got home, I was pretty disappointed to find out they gave me a spicy soup when I had ordered non-spicy (labeled 0 spicy). They did give me a refund for it, but it was pretty painful since the kids can't eat and live 15 mins away.

Service: The bartender was kind and had a good welcoming demeanor. He was able to give me some water while I waited.

Bar: pretty well stocked. The taps weren't up yet but so far seems like they had some craft offerings (St. Arnold) and classics - stella, yengling. Bottles - bud, tsingdao, shiner... Spirits- plenty for TX crowd - titos, jack, Jameson, casa migos. Patron, genlivet, makers, JW Black, Toki Sojus - mostly Jinro/Chamisul and think I saw Chumchuram... Flavored soju from SoonHari. Makgeolli - Think there were two bottles.

FOOD Taste: Japchae isn't made with traditional Korean flavors and seemed to be very heavy on the sugary side making it very unbalanced. (Similiar to a yakisoba/teriyaki taste) One of the staple main ingredients missing was Sesame Oil, which was noticeable. Of the ingredients used, it the veg also seemed lacking... using black fungus mushrooms for shiitake and no spinach greens. (greens were an abundance of scallions). I don't normally order Japchae at tofu village, but I really doubt it tastes like this. 2/5

Tofu Soup: The soup tastes a bit cleaner than tofu village in a sense that maybe they aren't using any animal protein to get some additional umami to the broth. It wasn't bad but I still had expectations for taste to be the same as they are for tofu village. 3/5

Banchan: I had to actually ask for. Not a balanced variety: sweet macaroni, The kimchi was overly fermented, like the kind you use with jigaes. Would have loved to have some of of kakdugi I saw they gave one of the tables. 3/5

Based on the taste, I'll probably skip out on coming here unless they make the food more authentic tasting or...

I visited yesterday with my husband. Just a spontaneous decision to try this place (I’m a vegetarian and the name of the place is tofu town so…) I have to tell you the truth. I wasn’t sure what I was walking into when we stopped by starving.

First impression: I liked this place! Had a very good vibe. Our waiter was very friendly and explained menu items to us. I felt the food came promptly and was presented well.

I have to say I was excited to see they give you all these little samples of food while you are waiting for your order! The kimchi, pickled cucumber and tofu were my favorite. Not sure why a Korean place is offering American macaroni salad and plain mashed potatoes; maybe it’s a thing in Korea? I don’t know. I need to go educate myself on Korean food and culture. But they were plain and pretty tasteless. Not American. White American. It was gross. We had reservations for an upscale American place but my husband (Indian born) did not want American food. So we were pretty disappointed to eat even worse American food at a Korean place. My mushroom and tofu soup lacked flavor big time but the tofu and mushroom were cooked how I like it. Honestly I would order it again but take it home and fix it up 😂.

Not all is lost. The kimchi pancake was fantastic!!! I even loved the sauce that came with it. My husband ordered some Spicy chicken item and it was flavorful. I did like how they give you sticky rice instead of regular steam rice; that was pleasant since sticky rice and mango is one of my favorite desserts.

We don’t eat pork or red meat so we did not eat the recommended dish from the waiter. I would still say to come try this place. It’s new, I think they will fix the flavor issues as they are still testing things probably. I felt it was enough vegetarian things for me to try it again. Plus I want that kimchi pancake again. SO YUMMY!! We were not feeling strongly about our food overall but I think you cannot judge based on one visit. Consider this: it was a great atmosphere, friendly waitstaff and clean. Nice amount of food for the money. I’d say give it a shot. Me and my family are basically chefs; we judge restaurants harshly since we eat very well at home. The good service is worth it; I’ll be back Wednesday with my son. I want him to have the...

Totally happy that there are more Korean food options in Pearland! My wife and I have been wanting to try this place out ever since they announced their soft opening. So we gave it a try, kids in tow.

Service is quick and friendly, clean facility, ample lighting and nice kpop music playing in the background. There seems to be a fairly good sized bar in the back left of the restaurant as well. The food came out piping hot, along with the usual cold/pickled side dishes and a tossed salad.

My wife and I ordered the soup/bbq combination. She picked the oyster tofu soup and spicy grilled pork. I picked the mushroom tofu soup and spicy chicken as the protein. We also ordered the seafood pancake and children's portion of the fish katsu for my kids.

The seafood pancake is good, loaded with various seafood and aromatic scallions. I do wish it was a tad crispier though, maybe a few more mins on the pan will do the trick. Flavor is nice, and pairs well with the dipping sauce.

My kids killed the fish katsu, so I guess they loved it. I did try a bite, and the fish was fried to golden perfection. It came with a savory sauce and a bowl of rice. The portion of the fish (to me at least) is quite generous for being a children's sized portion, but, no complaints from my kids about the food.

My wife and I both enjoyed the soup and the BBQ. I'm glad the soup wasn't simply loaded with tofu, and looks to be a good amount of protein in there as well. I love mixing the hot soup with the bowl of rice that accompanied the dish. My spicy chicken was good too. It can be a smidge more spicy though, but flavor wise, it's good. My wife had no complaints about her bbq and soup as well.

Overall, a solid Korean restaurant in the region. I knocked off a star for the burned rice in the bottom of the hot rice bowl. There's a difference between rice cooked to a crispy texture on the bottom of a hot bowl, and literally burned rice. The burned portion made the rice a bit bitter. But thankfully most of the rice...