Gangneung tofu restaurant for family meals with parents: Jeong Eunsuk

As someone who always has to eat sundubu (soft tofu) whenever I'm in Gangneung, I finally went to Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu (정은숙초당순두부), a place I'd been curious about for ages!

Where do you park?

There's a fairly roomy parking area right next to the restaurant.

If it's full, you can also use the free Heo Nanseolheon parking lot nearby!

What kind of place is Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu?

Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu is run by master cook Jeong Eun-suk, who grew up in Chodang, the neighborhood where Heo Nanseolheon's birthplace is! Having lived close to Chodang tofu since childhood and worked to carry on the tradition, she was named Korea Master Cook No. 48, and these days she's promoting Chodang sundubu and other signature Gangneung foods.

The Korea Master Cook certification plaque was right there inside the restaurant 😮

Do you need a reservation even for a weekday lunch?

The day I visited was a Wednesday lunchtime, a regular weekday, and I was shocked at how many people were already there 👀‼️ I'd heard there's a wait at peak hours so I booked ahead, and I was really glad I did.

There's a waiting area in front of the restaurant too. If you reserve, you apparently get seated faster than walk-in waiting. The ₩20,000 deposit for a Naver reservation is refunded right after your meal, so if you're coming on a weekend or as a group, I'd recommend booking 👍🏻 This place has already been on TV plenty of times!

The menu and the Chodang Premium Table we ordered

The signature is the Chodang Premium Table (₩25,000). There's also the Chodang Tofu Table (₩20,000), tofu samhap with boiled pork (₩31,000), Chodang tofu hot pot (₩15,000), Chodang sundubu hot pot (₩15,000) and other dishes! Looking around, most guests seemed to go for the signature Chodang Premium Table 👀

They're giving out a sundubu pudding if you write a Naver review! We were too full to take part, but if you're interested, keep it in mind :)

We ordered the Chodang Premium Table for two. It comes with kodari gangjeong (sweet-and-spicy glazed half-dried pollock) + tofu samhap (tofu, boiled pork and fermented flounder eaten together) + sundubu jeongol (soft tofu hot pot), so it's great for trying several dishes at once 😋

Neatly presented side dishes

The banchan (side dishes) came out beautifully: a salad with nut dressing, tangpyeongchae (mung bean jelly salad), napa cabbage kimchi, a broccoli side dish, seasoned seaweed and ssam (wrap) greens ✨

Sundubu hot pot with tofu made fresh every dawn

The Jeong Eunsuk sundubu jeongol is a hot pot carefully made with tofu they make themselves every morning before dawn. And yes, the tofu was so, so soft!!

With all kinds of vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and even fresh crab in there, the depth of flavor was truly something else 🥹

The hot pot has a spicy kick, but the savoriness and depth come through really well! The tofu is clean and nutty, and eaten with the spicy broth the combination was just fantastic!! We were saying to each other, 'a master cook really is different'... haha

The tofu samhap that impressed me most

Of everything we ordered, the dish that impressed me most was this tofu samhap!!! Honestly this was my first time ever trying tofu samhap, and just the way it's laid out grabs your attention 〰️

It comes with tofu, gajami sikhae (fermented flounder with rice and chili), suyuk (boiled pork), salted shrimp, garlic, chili peppers, ssamjang (wrap sauce), soy sauce and chives, and putting them together is pure heaven 😭

Stack tofu, suyuk and gajami sikhae into the three-way samhap and you get clean tofu, rich pork and sweet-sour, chewy flounder sikhae all at once... a dreamy combination that just keeps going in nonstop.

Wrapping it in ssam is delicious too!! I think they make their own ssamjang here❓ It didn't taste like the store-bought stuff.

Sweet and spicy kodari gangjeong

The kodari gangjeong was better than expected too. The pollock is slightly spicy but the sauce blends in sweetly, and it really wakes up your appetite 🤤

The sauce soaks in nicely on the outside and the flesh inside is tender, not tough or dry at all, so tasty!! 〰️

Tofu samhap: we refilled it

While eating the tofu samhap, the tofu and gajami sikhae ran out in no time, so we refilled them right away hahaha The samhap really is best eaten as the original three-way combo 🥹👍🏻

The refill came with a much more generous portion of tofu and gajami sikhae, wow ⭐️ If you don't eat the tofu samhap, you've only had half of Jeong Eunsuk 😭 (This is the reason I want to go back...)

Why it was great as a family meal in Gangneung too

When you think of eating sundubu in Gangneung it's easy to only picture Chodang sundubu, but at Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu you can enjoy not just sundubu jeongol but tofu samhap and kodari gangjeong together, which I loved! Ojukheon is about an 8-minute drive away, so it was perfect for a walk after the meal! haha I think this place would be really great to visit with your parents. Next time I'm in Gangneung with my family, I'm definitely coming back to Jeong Eunsuk Chodang Sundubu.