The scorching weather in Singapore has never stopped us from enjoying a piping hot bowl of soup whenever we please, and when it comes to Korean tofu stew, it’s especially hard to say no. Sundubu specialty restaurants like SBCD Korean Tofu House and Tokyo Sundubu (now closed) have been go-to haunts for years, but a new chain has recently joined the mix: Kong Madam.
The restaurant is part of a wider group called Kang Ho Dong Baekjong, which owns around nine F&B brands across Korea, the US, China, Australia and now Singapore. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because its founder, Kang Ho Dong, is the popular South Korean TV host and comedian who features in hit variety shows like Knowing Bros, 2 Days 1 Night and New Journey to the West.
Located in the freshly completed Guoco Midtown II development in Bugis, Kong Madam is packed with office workers during lunch hours on weekdays. But with the efficient queue and ordering system and quick service, it doesn’t take long to get seated.
The highlight here is traditional Gangneung-style sundubu (soft tofu), freshly made on-site daily using a proprietary mix of Korean soybeans and seawater with a high mineral content. While you won’t be able to catch the live action since the tofu is churned in the morning, you’ll still be able to spot the machinery at the back of the restaurant where all the tofu is produced.
The entire process is quite a laborious one, including washing the soybeans, soaking, grinding, boiling, squeezing the grains through a cheesecloth and resting, before the final product comes out of a tofu mould. The result isn’t your typical silky-smooth sundubu, but rather a distinct crumbly, curdled texture that melts in the mouth.
11 set options (from $21.90) are available, each served with a pot of sundubu stew, hot stone rice and banchan (side dishes) like quail eggs, bean sprouts, kimchi, seasoned laver and even a small deep-fried fish. Our bowl of seafood sundubu stew ($21.90) arrives bubbling and packed with tofu, prawns, clams, zucchini, a flower crab leg and a raw egg on top. The broth packs a punch, with the Korean chilli powder (gochugaru) making it refreshingly spicy and addictive.
Other sets include beef and pork sundubu ($23.90 each), plant-based options like seaweed and perilla ($21.90 each) and lesser-seen variations such as the budae pot sundubu ($23.90) – a spin on budae jjigae with ingredients like spam and sausage – cheese chewy noodles sundubu ($23.90) and rice cake and dumpling sundubu ($23.90).
The rice arrives in a hot metal pot, and to prevent it from burning at the bottom, make sure to fluff it up as soon as it reaches your table and scoop it into your bowls. With the remaining layer of rice stuck to the base, pour in the warm broth provided at the side and cover the pot to make nurungi, or scorched rice – traditionally enjoyed in Korea at the end of a meal.
While the set meal is already quite the spread, those who have space for more can try some of Kong Madam’s other specialty dishes. We like the sweet-savoury marinade on the LA Galbi ($39.90), which is charcoal-grilled and served hot off the grill, still sizzling. The kimchi pancake ($27.90), pricey as it is, is thick with a crispy exterior, flavour-packed and generously stuffed with ingredients and prawns.
Kong Madam is open daily from 11am to 3pm and 5pm to 10pm at 20 Tan Quee Lan St, Guoco Midtown II, #01-02, Singapore 188107, and accepts walk-ins only.
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