The Gaesung House of Tofu is easy to pass by as one of several residents of a worn strip mall on El Camino Real that also includes a paint store and a Smart & Final. But pass through its doors and you will find that what goes on inside is far from pedestrian. The interior is awash in soothing tones of butternut and ecru, and paper lanterns hanging like full moons invite you to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.
The list of appetizers is as long as the lunch menu, which tells you not to take them lightly. Tofu salad is a must here, with two scoops of crumbly tofu atop greens lightly anointed with a soy vinaigrette ($8.50). It seems every table had one. We opted for duk bokki, "sautéed Gaesung-style, snowman-shaped, traditional-shaped rice cake." While it may be odd to see the word "snowman" on a Korean menu, the word fits. The rice cake was sweet and chewy and came in rod shapes (traditional) or as two balls stuck together (snowman). These are sautéed with cabbage, plenty of soft tofu, and flat triangles of fish cake in a sweet and spicy (or not) sauce sprinkled with peas and shredded egg. You don't come across this kind of cooking every day.
Whatever entrée you choose will be served with pan chan, side dishes of pickled and marinated items. Pan chan is half the reason for eating Korean food. Here, they could be your sole reason. There are 10 dishes at dinner, standouts being spinach with crushed tofu, sweet and nutty from the addition of sesame seeds; pickled radish cubes; slices of medium-spicy kimchee stacked like playing cards; black seaweed, briny and sweet; and crunchy bean sprouts.
The standard at lunch or dinner is the tofu pot, a bubbling mini cauldron of silken tofu cooked in beef or seaweed broth ($8.75 for lunch, $11.25 for dinner). You tell them how much heat you can stand, from mild to very spicy. The original is with beef and pork, or you may have seafood (oysters, clams, and shrimp), beef or pork with kimchee, or assorted mushrooms. Crack your raw egg into the pot when it arrives if you like yours well done; wait awhile if you like it sunny. The entire stew is delicious served atop sticky sushi rice.
The beef short ribs stew (gal bi tang jeong shik) is actually more of a soup than a stew ($13.50). Meaty short ribs wait at the bottom of your bowl for discovery like sunken treasure. The soup is clear, flavorful, and not overly salted. Slippery crystal noodles add variety.
Gaesung also offer traditional dishes from Gaesung, a city in North Korea that was once the capitol of Korea during the Corya dynasty. Squash kimchi soup with a beef, pork, or anchovy soup base and dehydrated cabbage in a soy bean paste soup are just couple samplings, providing you more reasons to visit this intriguing hideaway ($10 each).