Dubu Dubu is a Korean restaurant in Gurney Paragon Mall, Penang. It offers what it calls "urban Korean food" or 도심속한국음식 . The restaurant opened for business during the third quarter of 2014, and is located on the basement level of the shopping mall. The name Dubu Dubu (두부두부 ) itself means beancurd. I came across the restaurant the other day, and suggested to my wife that we go there to try the food. I believe this is Dubu Dubu's first outlet in Penang, with other locations being Mid Valley, One Utama, Berjaya Times Square, Nu Sentral, Centro Mall Klang and Sunway Pyramid.
14 September, 2014
Dubu Dubu has a store front that displays the popular set meals that it offers. For your information, we judge Korean restaurants by how well they make their bibimbap and their bulgogi. Considering both of these are on the store display, we decided to give the restaurant a try.
It is quite a big and spacious restaurant, but at the time we entered, only one table was taken. However, during our visit, more and more tables filled up. We noticed that not a single person in the workforce is a Chinese, and many are foreigners.
We deposited ourselves at the far corner which we found a rather cosy spot. The lighting was very bright, however, this makes the air-conditioning inadequate. Despite the emptiness of the restaurant, I felt that our sitting area was a bit warm.
It didn't take us long to place our order, as we have already decided to test the restaurant base on how well they make their bibimbap and bulgogi. Considering this is a beancurd restaurant, we make sure we ordered their beancurd dessert, or tau33hua1 , I had the Citron Dubu while my wife the Dubu Dubu Bingsu.
Dubu Dubu desserts (14 September 2014)
And here's how the rest of our order looks like:
Our meal at Dubu Dubu Urban Korean Food (13 September 2014)
On the face of it, the sets may look like a lot of stuff, but if you are used to Korean food, you will agree with me that the number of side dishes is wanting. Apa ni, only four? And two of them - the macaroni and the green vege - aren't very Korean. Unlike our favourite Korean restaurant, Daorae (not any Daorae but the one and only the one at Bayan Point), where we were given an unlimited refill of two types of kimchi (the Chinese cabbage and the daikon), over here, there's only one, the Chinese cabbage, and when we tasted it, found that it wasn't up to our usual expectation of this kimchi.
The dubu dubu rice is a pleasant difference for this restaurant. It is purple rice. I am not sure what that is, but it's quite a change from the usual white rice. However, it did not come in the usual stainless steel covered cup, as I would expect how rice should be served. Nevermind lah.
I had the bulgogi while my wife the bibimbap. The bulgogi beef here is grilled with quite a lot of scallions. It is served with corn and greenbeans, which I find rather unusual. Oh, and there's a dried egg on top. That, I quite like.
The beancurd, true to its name Dubu, is very soft and nice. I think, if anything, you should go to this restaurant just to try its beancurd. I don't care for what they add to the dessert - such as the orange peel or the shaved ice, just pay attention to the beancurd. Everything else, by Korean restaurant standard, is not too impressive to me.
Price wise, Dubu Dubu is not too expensive for a Korean restaurant. On the other hand, I quite prefer Daorae where the tea comes at no extra change - over at Dubu Dubu, you have to order your own drinks. Also, I find the number of side dishes, or banchan, to be quite wanting, and also quite ordinary. So, although the price at Dubu Dubu isn't very high, all in, when every miscellaneous item is counted, the bill is higher than at Daorae.
Having tried Dubu Dubu, I can say cukup for now. If I am in the mood for Korean food, I will return to my favourite Korean restaurant. Having said that, I would nonetheless encourage you to give Dubu Dubu a try, and if you have any input or comments, you can add to it on my Facebook Thread at the Penang Restaurant Food Facebook Group.
Contact
Dubu Dubu
Lot LG 16B, 17 & 17A
Gurney Paragon Mall
Gurney Drive
10250 George Town, Penang
Phone: +60 4 218 9235
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