16.227 Original Tofu Soup – This Is Where I Leave You

Cycle 16 – Item 227

Post 5,706

20 (Wed) August 2025

Original Tofu Soup – This Is Where I Leave You

2.5

at Pyeong Chang Tofu

-Berkeley, California, USA-

with DJ

Sending the Kid Off to College (The Cal Handover): Day 7 of 8

- Day 1 (16.221 “Walnut Shrimp” (Candied Pecans with Jumbo Prawns))
- Day 2 (16.222 DeliciousHot Dog)
- Day 3 (16.223 Roasted Duck (Half))
- Day 4 (16.224 Seared Baby Lobster (Nigirizushi))
- Day 5 (16.225 Wintermelon & Seafood Soup – Go Bears!)
- Day 6 (16.226 Fettucine … Anchoïade – Let’s Celebrate in Style)
- Day 7 (16.227 Original Tofu Soup – This Is Where I Leave You)
- Day 8 (16.228 Korean Beef Short Rib with Vegetables Wraps)

In the San Francisco Bay Area. MISSION: transition DJ into his new life as a freshman at the University of California – aka Cal (to those who know) aka UC Berkeley (to those who don’t): sign up for a local mobile phone number, open a checking account, buy pillows for his dorm room. After that fateful visit to Berkeley last summer, which I’d dared to hope would inspire DJ to apply later that fall, then get accepted and enroll in the spring – meanwhile, donating to the Buddha for Academic Achievement (see 13.094 Just Regular Eomuk), asking a priest for his blessing (see 15.256 Pretty Jeon), erecting a shrine to the Golden Bear Gods (see 16.082 Kongnamul Scallop Guk), and delivering a presentation to steer him in the right direction (see 16.083 Tangsuyuk) – the dream came true. A graduate of Cal myself – Go Bears! – I look forward to buying a “Cal Dad” t-shirt.

4 nights at Hahn’s, 2 nights at Berkeley, 1 final night back at Hahn’s.

LUNCH

Pyeong Chang Tofu is a Korean restaurant. Specializes in sundubu jjigae, among other things. 2 locations, the original in Oakland and a new branch in Berkeley.

Located at 1269 University Avenue, Berkeley.

For our final meal together before he steps out into the world on his own, DJ wanted Korean food. We’d passed by Pyeong Chang Tofu several times on our way to/from the hotel and campus – a good place to scout out for future reference. And I’m still so sick that sundubu jjigae seemed like just the thing.

For no apparent reason, our order took over 40 minutes to be served. (If I had to start entirely from scratch, I could make sundubu jjigae within 5 minutes, then another 10 minutes until the rice gets toasty.)

It was okay. Not worth the wait. Not worth the distance to get there.

MOVE-IN

DJ’s first home away from home is a dorm room: Unit 1, Putnam Hall.

Located on the corner of Channing Way and College Avenue.

For the in-coming freshman class this year, the Office of Admissions extended offers to approximately 14,500 students, compared to around 13,700 last year. Although final enrollment numbers are not disclosed, historical yield estimates suggest a bit more than half of those students accept. Thus, about 400 more freshmen are expected to attend in 2025 than in 2024.

Very proud that DJ wears my old Tumi backpack, a first generation Alpha Bravo in OG brown ballistic nylon, purchased in 2010, the year of release, and carried exclusively for 6 years, until I swapped it for a new Alpha 2 in the lighter PX6 fabric, which I still carry today – the older one still looks new.

However, the university did not build or set aside additional housing for the increased class. Instead, single dorm rooms were converted into doubles, double rooms into triples, and communal lounges on each floor into quads.

Barely enough room for 1 person, let alone 3 big boys.

Designed for 1 student, now shared by 2.

DJ and his friend Keanu had applied together for a double, but they were assigned a triple, along with a third roommate (who turned out to be an Indonesian kid from San Francisco).

Arriving first, DJ got his pick of the stand-alone desk and an upper bunk – apparently, lower bunks are less desirable because they offer less privacy and because other people (friends of roommates, dropping by) are bound to sit on them.

Overlooking the corner of College (left) and Channing (bottom), across the street from Underhill Parking Lot.

Though I tried to take my time in setting up, hoping to extend these last few moments with my son, it was soon over (he didn’t really have that much stuff). And clearly he was itching for me to leave so that he could get on with his new life. So I left. With DJ escorting me back to the parking lot, I advised him to study hard (don’t skip class, even if they don’t take attendance), absorb everything, have fun, but not too much fun, eat often at Steve’s Korean BBQ. I gave him a hug, kissed him on the cheek, and said goodbye.