Highlight #180: Eat well late into the night - Restaurant: 88 Tofu house

Five years ago, when hubby was a consultant who only came back to nyc on the weekends, we partied every night that he was there and then went seeking for late night eats. More often than not, we'd end up in Koreantown near Penn Station at 3 or 4 in the morning. It's probably the only place at that hour to have streets full of open restaurants. Let me tell you, nothing beats a steamy pot of hot and spicy soft tofu after too many drinks and too much dancing.

We haven't done that sort of eating in a looong while until this past weekend when we found ourselves hungry after too many hours of Karaoking with friends. On a whim, we took another couple to the nearby 24 hour 88 Tofu House.

The place looked even more rundown than I remembered. Judging by the leftover plates and bowls scattered across a number of tables, we were late even for late night eating. A single waitress rushed in and out serving and busing tables. Under the numerous tofu permutations on the menu, I noticed an item that I love, but don't see often, gingseng chicken with glutinous rice and jujubes. I adore this dish for a number of reasons. One, it's said to cure a hangover and help to detox the liver, which is always a plus after drinking. Two, the dish is salt free and comes with sea salt on the side. This is fantastic because I tend to puff up like popcorn the morning after a late night meal heavy on salt.

The chicken came out in the whole. It's a small bird, but nonetheless sizable. It's amazing that the waitress carried this to the table with the soup still at a roaring boil. First, I riped off a small drumstick, my favorite dark meat. It was tender and sufficiently chickeny. Once I've cleared/eaten out a passage to the chicken cavity, I used a spoon to scoop out the glutinous rice and jujube stuffed inside. Very soft and mushy at this point, the gelatinous mess hit the sweet spot. After the soup cooled off a bit, I tried it first without any salt. What do you know, it was almost savory enough from just chicken essence. A small spoonful of salt and it was perfect for drinking.

88 Tofu House
5490 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340
(770) 455-0004