Pyeong Chang Tofu House, Oakland

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Pyeong Chang Tofu House 4701 Telegraph Ave Oakland, CA 94609 510-658-9040 Pyeong Chang Tofu House Website

Pyeong Chang is a Korean restaurant located in the Temescal district of Oakland, where a cluster Korean restaurants are situated. Burma Superstar is a couple doors down, while Bakesale Betty and Pizzaiolo are a block or two away. We were looking for some higher-quality Korean food than is present in San Francisco. They also have a location in Berkeley on University. Our last visit was in Spring 2023 at their Berkeley location.

Nearby is well respected Korean restaurants Hancook and Moo Bong Ri Korean (No Galbi, Bi Bim Bab)

Decor, Vibe – Pyeong Chang is one medium sized room with pretty basic decor. Pictures of food line the wall. The bench-like rough cut tables are made from natural wood. A lot of Koreans were dining, surely a very good sign.

Pyeong Menu

Pyeong Chang’s Menu is not very long and looks very authentic. They have a variety of soft tofu soups, barbecue items, and noodles.

Signature Dishes – Soft Tofu Soup, Kalbi, Bibimbab.

Pyeong  Chang Tofu Food Picks:

Banchan (small dishes of food) consisted of six good-sized items some of which we had not seen in other local Korean restaurants including yam and less fermented items.

Korean traditional style pureed bean pancake ($17) was excellent, crunchy, soft inside, hot out of the fryer, freshly made, filled with carrots, chives, mushrooms. Eat this quickly before it gets mushy. It used to cost $5 before! 9/10

Korean style Barbecued beef ribs with marinated onions – Kalbi ($41.99) was sizzling hot and had pretty good quantity. Flavors were on point as was meat quality. Kind of surprising for a Tofu House. 8.5/10

Vegetable Tofu Soup ($18.99 is perfect for vegetarians. Come out piping hot. Beware Level 1 mild spice is pretty damn hot! 9/10

Soy Garlic Chicken wings ($30.99 for 20pcs) is a huge portion of hot freshly fried wings.  More interesting than plain and we’re scared to get the spicy ones. 9/10

Dol Sot Bi Bim Bab ($15.99) mixed vegetables, beef and rice cooked in hot stoneware looked beautiful. The egg already topped the dish and served to us. The earthy mushrooms stood out as did the fresh vegetables. Very large size.

Soft Tofu Soup

Complimentary with certain dishes lie BBQ Short Ribs.

Combo small tofu soup with beef and assorted vegetables ($12.99) with Gajami Gui (Rex sole) panfried was pictured on the wall and would expand variety over just the soup, at a small $3 premium. The very good tofu soup was moderately spicy (medium spicy) and of course bubbling hot. The bits of meat more pretty small.
The fish was huge and possessed an excellent crispy crust on the outside. It was grilled bone in and is highly recommended.

Stone pot rice came with the entrees. They even helped us remove the awesome crispy rice.

OK:

Short Beef Rib Soup ($15.99) or Galbi Tang, was not really like other versions of it. A little sour.

Pans:
None

Service – Pyeong Chang had classic drop and go service. We had hail the waitress to get anything done.

Value – Prices are pretty typical with quality Korean restaurants.

Alternatives – Ohgane is more meat oriented. Nearby restaurants include Burma Superstar, Bakesale Betty, Pizzaiolo, and a bunch of other good Korean restaurants, we will try another day.

Verdict – Pyeong Chang Tofu House serves authentic Korean food in their unassuming location. Service is in very good, but the food is.

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Restaurant Map: