All it took was a little time and a few stars for chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre, a Korean kid adopted by a Belgian family, to cook his roots. It’s now a done deal in this ordinary street in Saint-Gilles, where Anju serves as an embassy of K-pop (for Korean “popular cuisine”) with lots of manhwa comics dotted about the shelves, vinyls on the walls and illustrations everywhere. At the helm of what was once Toshiro? Executive chef and partner Victor des Roseaux, this time in the dining room delivering: amazing yet almost-too-crispy fried chicken; average japchae mixing sweet potato noodles and seasonal vegetables – both quickly forgotten thanks to some stirring samgyetang – hot ginseng chicken soup with rice, tender pieces of chicken breast and jujube bobbing about; or duck bulgogi showing off its impeccably cooked breast, simply topped with soju. The lot, served banchan-style, with kimchi, braised baby zucchini and purple shiso leaves, among others. // Rosa Poulsard
FEELING THIRSTY? A menu packed with beautiful references: Amphibolite, a muscadet from Jo Landron (€39 a bottle), Clos des Cessieux, a Saint-Joseph from Hervé Souhaut (€107), as well as Jinro is Back soju (€5 a glass, €25 € per bottle) and the house Osan infusions (beetroot, verbena and turmeric, basil and shiso, €6 a glass).
PRICE: Sharing plates €12-16 (€18-28 with banchan), desserts €9.
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