Food Blog | Dubu Dubu | Desa Sri Hartamas | Mont Kiara | Kuala Lumpur
Coming to you with more Desa Sri Hartamas eats! This time, it is Dubu Dubu, a cozy restaurant in Hartamas Square serving up homely tofu dishes. If you’ve tried Buldojang - another very popular Korean restaurant in the area - it actually has the same owner and Buldojang is actually located the level below!
Is it Halal
They are pork-free, but not halal certified, so if this is a concern of yours, do exercise your own discretion when it comes to eating here. Not going to comment much apart from that, just that this is one of those restaurants branded as “Muslim Friendly” but not halal certified.
Where it Is
It is located at Desa Sri Hartamas - it is located in the square where you can find Ice Cream Bar, 1977 Ipoh Chicken Rice, and Guardian - but I think the shop that stands out would be the very red Big Pharmacy. It is essentially located next to Big Pharmacy - just that you will need to look up to find the sign for Dubu Dubu (or look for Buldojang).
Parking is very challenging in this area especially during the meal times - as you don’t really have many paid options as well, so expect to go round and round looking for parking. I personally like parking around the back row - before the Shell - and walk a bit (but at certain hours, even that side can be pretty full).
Address: 14-2, Jalan 24/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Operating Hours:
Daily: 11am - 9:30pm (Closed on Thursdays)
What it Costs
What I’ll say is that what is shared in this post (as is the case a lot of the time) isn’t really representative of what two people would usually eat, but it was finished by two people. I generally just order a bit more so I have a bit more content to share.
We had the following:
Sotbap Jeong Sik | RM49
Kongguksu | RM30
Today’s Tofu | RM25
Service Charge | 10% | RM10.40
Total | RM114.40
Strictly speaking, I think compared to something like Busan Zip (using this as a benchmark purely because it is the most recent Korean meal I’ve had in Desa Sri Hartamas) - this is actually much more reasonable. You can take a look at what I ordered for a total of RM178 here. I would say this is reasonably priced for what you get - as well as the fact that on the day I went, there wasn’t a ginormous queue, like you would see with Busan Zip.
How it Tastes
The first dish that came was the Kongguksu. If you’re not familiar, Kongguksu is a Korean dish consisting of cold noodles served in a creamy soybean broth. They also give you a pair of scissors to cut the noodles, as otherwise they’re really long and hard to take out of the bowl.
I would say that I would have preferred the Kongguksu to be a lot more flavourful / nutty. Usually I know the flavours for Kongguksu are on the milder end, but I would say that this is on the milder end of the milder end - which almost makes me yearn for a bit more flavour in this dish. But the noodles themselves are nice, and I think that it is still a very comforting bowl of noodles.
They offer side dishes, but if you order the Sotbap Jeong Sik, they have a set of premium set dishes that are different. For the normal side dishes, I was actually quite surprised by their rendition of the kimchi side dishes (which normally isn’t the case). It’s actually really flavourful - for me it tastes like there’s a lot of Gochujang - which I like but am just surpirsed that a shop like this specializing in healthy dishes went for what I would consider a slightly less healthy kimchi variation. Still really liked it! Their side dishes were also good, with pickled vegetables and acorn jelly (or dotorimuk).
They have a few versions of tofu dishes - including fried and with ginseng - but their daily tofu is probably the simplest variation that is worth trying. It is basically a few pieces of thick tofu with a very nice texture coupled with what tastes to me like a variation of the sauce that usually accompanies pajeon.
It is definitely what people who enjoy food on the healthier end would enjoy. I’m saying it’s nice, but I suspect that all you foodies might enjoy the fried versions a bit more - as I also actually really liked one of their premium side dishes from the rice set (Sotbap Jeong Sik), which was a fried tofu dish.
And onto what they advertise as their signature - the Sotbap Jeong Sik, which is a rish set consisting of a main (choice of fish or beef bulgogi), seaweed soup, pot rice, and 5 side dishes. There’s also a small dessert drink / soup / a sweet palette cleanser. You can also choose what rice you want - this is their black rice. First thing that comes would be that pot of rice - it takes around 15 minutes to cook in front of you before you can scoop it out of the stone pot. I think the rice is pretty unique (don’t expect so much flavour and all), but I’m talking about the whole presentation and all.
The fish comes with soy sauce and wasabi (a bit surprising to me I guess). But really nice fish - with a few pieces of bones which are easy to pick out (I say this because I’m someone quite picky about fish with bones haha). But really yummy and really nice together with the side dishes and the rice.
The side dishes have a nice mix. The same kimchi, fried tofu, and even a prawn side dish. Definitely more premium than the more basica side dishes. I actually really liked their seaweed soup as well, because there’s a lot of tofu and it isn’t too salty.
Star Rating
7.5/10. For me, this deserves more love than Busan Zip. It is unique, healthy, and much more value for money. Really homely dishes that are delicious, so this is a spot that I will probably come back eventually because I really enjoyed my meal here!