Craving tofu at Doobu

One of the nice things about having a toddler who likes to take late afternoon naps is that my husband and I get to enjoy liesurely meals, and by liesurely I mean two to three hours, while she snoozes in her stroller. Earlier this week, we headed over to our favorite Korean restaurant, Doobu, nestled in the heart of Japantown.

When you walk in, you notice the clean, simple decor with wooden booths on one side and tables on the other side just before the bar. A literal layer of warmth emanates throughout the place, an indication of the piping hot dishes being prepared in the kitchen. Servers are courteous and acknowledge familiar faces like ours. They bring out a myriad of side dishes including a whole fried yellow croaker for each of us, pickled cucumber, kimchi, fishcake, seaweed salad and vermicelli salad.

We order the kimchi tofu soup, with beef and medium heat. The cast iron pot is filled to the brim with silky soft tofu, bits of beef and kimchi, and the pretty red chili flecks characteristic of kimchi. We quickly stir in the raw egg while it's hot. It's so good over rice which soaks up the flavorful broth. The rice, by the way, is a light purple color as a result of combining both white rice and black rice together. We've had the corned beef soon tofu before but the kimchi version is tastier.

We also share the seafood bibimbap loaded with mussels, clams, squid, baby shrimp, assorted vegetables like mushrooms and onions, and an egg yolk all piled on top of white rice which has a delicious crispy layer coating the bottom of the sizzling pot. The only thing that doesn't seem to mesh with the other ingredients is the imitation crab. Nevertheless, it is very satisfying.

Doobu is the perfect warm-you-up-from-the-inside-out place for a cold, foggy San Francisco day or night. They give you such heaping portions that it's best to go when you are really hungry, and even then, you will leave stuffed and possibly with leftovers. One of these days, maybe my daughter will be awake and actually have a chance to enjoy their food. My son is a big fan of kalbi so we will have to bring him, too.

They are open Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

For more info: Doobu, 1723 Buchanan Street (between Post and Sutter). 415.292.6002.