Anju ModernKorean Fusion

Modern Korean cooking arrives on Geelong's Pakington Street strip with a playful, boundary-blurring hand, drawing on a family fried-chicken recipe said to be four decades in the making. The kitchen treats Korean staples as a starting point rather than a rulebook: bibimbap and bulgogi sit alongside inventions like a bulgogi pie and cheesy kimchi rice balls, dishes that read as comfort food filtered through a young, fusion-minded sensibility. Fried chicken remains the anchor, lacquered and crisp and built for sharing, and the plates tend to arrive looking as considered as they taste, colour-forward and generous. Newtown has long been Geelong's cafe-and-restaurant heart, and this room fits the neighbourhood's appetite for something a little louder and more contemporary than the usual suburban Korean fare. The mood is casual and social, geared to groups working through a spread of fried chicken, rice bowls and snacky hybrids rather than a formal course-by-course dinner. It is the kind of place that rewards ordering widely and sharing everything, and its following has grown quickly on the back of dishes that travel well on a phone screen and better on the table. A welcome addition to a regional dining scene still short on modern Korean options.