ANJU, or 안주, is a Korean term used to describe dishes that are eaten with alcohol. With that in mind, ANJU Restaurant aims to redefine the elegant Korean cuisine experience with its choice of menus and curated list of alcohols.
ANJU: Exquisite Korean Bar Experience
Helmed by Chef Kim Gi Deok and the ANJU team, the newly opened restaurant in Tanjong Pagar features beautifully crafted menu items that go well with Korean alcohol.
Forget about the typical green bottles of soju and expect a totally different list of bottles that are directly imported from Korean distilleries.
From fruit wines that feature Jeju Mandarins to Soju that’s double-distilled by oak wood charcoal, your perception of Korean alcohol is about to change.
Modern Korean Bar in Singapore
ANJU had a warm and welcoming atmosphere, with various seating arrangements to choose from. Despite visiting during the first few weeks after their opening, the place was brimming with customers, with the majority being Koreans.
Throughout our entire time at ANJU, we also found the staff genuinely attentive and helpful which made the overall experience even better.
Menu at ANJU Restaurant
It was difficult to choose from a wide variety of lesser-seen alcohols, but we decided on the Champagne Makgeolli (940ml, 6% – $75) which is undoubtedly one of ANJU’s signature drinks.
The fizziness really hits you during the first sip, but slowly fades as time passes by. Do allow the drink to sit for a while instead of drinking it immediately – you’ll realise that the champagne makgeolli gets sweeter over time.
Snacks
A great snack to go with beers would be the Bori Prawns ($8), with crispy and crunchy textures.
We highly recommend the Black Bean Mascarpone ($16), a blend of creamy mascarpone cheese with sweet Suritae beans topped with the chef’s special chive oil. Dip the crispy oven-baked sourdough into the unique combination and experience a burst of savoury, creamy and sweet flavours.
Cold Dishes
We started off with the Domi ($26), which had fresh slices of red snapper paired with endives, arugula leaves, kombu, small dollops of ssamjang and a ginger dressing. It was a great starter that made us look forward to what ANJU has to offer.
The Gyuja Salad ($22) makes a great appetizer with its blend of sour and spicy flavours. It’s basically a prawn and squid salad with mustard dressing and refreshing hints of yuzu. There are also occasional pops of sweetness thanks to the thinly sliced dates.
ANJU’s version of Yuk Hoe ($28) takes the dish to a new level. The beef tartare is topped with charred kale and a quail egg yolk served with slices of Korean pear on the side.
The crispy texture of the pear complemented the chewiness of the beef, while the smoky charred kale added a new dimension to the dish.
Hot Dishes
If you didn’t tell us this was cauliflower, we probably wouldn’t have guessed it. The Yangnyeom Cauliflower ($20) will entice even the toughest veggie-hater through its beautiful blend of sweet and sour flavours. The multigrain crumbs added a nice nuttiness and crispiness to the dish as well. During our recent visit, the dish has been upgraded to include rice cakes as well.
We like a nice balance of chewiness and crispiness with our Korean pancakes and ANJU’s version of the potato pancake was slightly tough for us. However, if you’re a fan of crispy Korean pancakes, you will find the Hogam Jeon ($25) to be a delight.
Bearing a similar resemblance to the Yangnyeom Cauliflower dish is the Sweet & Spicy Hwangtae ($22). Instead of the dry-aged pollack fries, we were drawn towards the Korean Shishito peppers, which had a nice balance of sweet and bitter flavours.
Reminding us of Chuseok was the Yuk Jeon ($28), a thinly sliced beef “pancake” served with watercress salad. We found this okay, with nothing too special to scream about.
Main Dishes
One of the highlights of the night was when Chef GD introduced the Bossam ($50). He explained that the braised pork belly was glazed with soybean paste and recommended pairing it with the baby turnips or the dried radish with seasoned squid.
You can play around with the sides and create your own ssam with the baby romaine lettuce. Be prepared to experience a melt-in-your-mouth experience!
The Galbi-Jjim ($38 per pax) is perhaps one of the most popular and well-known dishes among Koreans. While the beef short ribs may look dry on the outside, they were incredibly tender. The classic sweet and soy flavours called out for a bowl of rice.
One of the newer items on their menu is the Abalone Gim Pasta ($34). While we expected a hot dish, the pasta was served cold, which worked well with the combination of ingredients. Consisting of a seaweed-tossed pasta with elements of pickled shallots and perilla leaf topped with slices of fresh abalone, this was different from the usual abalone cream pasta you see in Korea.
Desserts
After revamping its menu, ANJU has included 3 desserts into their menu.
The Hwa Chae ($18) featured a scoop of watermelon sorbet on top of yuzu jelly and fresh fruits accompanied with apple foam, watermelon omija juice and pieces of honey tuile. This was more refreshing as compared to the other 2 desserts so this is great for those who want to end the meal on a light, fruity note.
There’s also Black Sesame Bread ($16) which consisted of small pieces of black sesame bread beautifully plated with black sesame cream, doenjang ice cream and yuzu meringue. The soybean paste ice cream added a pinch of saltiness to the overall dessert, almost like salted caramel and sea salt. We did think the black sesame flavour could have been stronger, but overall an enjoyable dessert.
The highlight was the Sweet Potato ($18), which was presented almost like an ant hill. However, hidden beneath the layer of cream and roasted sweet potato skin powder was a scoop of sweet potato ice cream with salted caramel creme and brown butter crumble. The level of sweetness for this was perfect and everything worked so well together. If you had to pick one dessert, we would recommend this.
Modern Korean Restaurant in Singapore
While there have been quite a few new Korean restaurants and Jjajangmyeon places in Singapore, ANJU’s entrance to the populated Korean food scene in Tanjong Pagar particularly stands out.
ANJU’s delightful execution of classic dishes such as Bossam and Galbi-Jjim alongside more unique items like the Yangnyeom Cauliflower might just be the perfect reason for us to head back and try out more unique alcohols.
For anyone who wants to break free from the usual Korean food experience, ANJU is a great place to do just that.
ANJU Restaurant
62 Tras St, Singapore 079001
Tues-Sat, 6pm-10:30pm, Closed on Mondays and Sundays
*This is an independent review by MiddleClass.sg. This article was first published on Apr 20th 2021 and was updated on 3 Nov 2022.
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