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New York’s Urimat Hospitality is all about sharing the essence of Korean cuisine—so much so that the newly formed hospitality group announced three Korean concepts set to land in NYC this year, all housed in a tri-level, 30,000-square-foot space that borders NoMad and Koreatown. The first to kick it off was HOWOO, a high-end Korean BBQ restaurant where grills sizzle with USDA prime, dry-aged beef and A5 Wagyu. Last month, the second restaurant made its debut. But instead of meat, the story is all about tofu.
Indicative of the name, DubuHaus (dubu translates to tofu) is dedicated to all things tofu. Located a level below HOWOO, the bean curd-based restaurant is minimalistic in nature, inspired by hanok, or traditional Korean homes. The resulting 100-seat dining room features a handsome, wood-heavy interior with natural stone floors and floor-to-ceiling partitions made of wood and glass. The open kitchen runs the length of the room, giving guests a front row seat to the making of dubu.
Every morning, the kitchen’s tofu “atelier” starts with organic, non-GMO soybeans sourced from South Korea. From there, the atelier soaks and grinds down beans and tends to massive metal pots that boil with bean curds and water. It all culminates at the tofu press, where the chef forms and slices the bean curds into classic, jiggling squares.
As you can guess, tofu is heavily weaved throughout the menu. Seven varieties of Soondubu jjigae (or Korean soft tofu stews) can be found here. Cast-iron cauldrons bubble with shrimp, clams, squid and scallops in the Seafood Soondubu, while four types of mushrooms (oyster, enoki mushrooms, brown beech and shiitake) cook in the Mushroom Perilla Seed Soondubu. Tofu is also found inside handmade dumplings, like the Dubu Mandu with zucchini, bean sprout and cabbage, and the Kimchi Mandu with soy, sesame, egg, pork and kimchi. The Spicy Braised Dubu (Dubu Jorim) is made for sharing, featuring gochujang-slicked tofu squares that come with a crown of braised pork belly.
Beyond just tofu, classic Korean specialties are also on offer, including Seasoned Acorn Mook with acorn jelly, a short series of hotpots and rice-forward dishes including bibimbap and sot bap. As for libations, soju, sool and makgeolli are for partaking. On the horizon, the restaurant will serve traditional Korean breakfasts in the AM and are soon to roll out their on-the-go lunchtime concept, dooboo grab&go.
So reserve a table and follow the light-up sign that says “Dubu Lab” to see how the tofu gets made.