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| - As a Korean person, when I hear the word "Korean-fusion" in the aspect of culinary arts, I cannot help but feel a bit skeptical. While I do not let myself be tied down by my traditional tastes when it comes to judging food, I have never quite liked the sweetened and less spicier version of Korean dishes commonly found in many "Korean" restaurants these days. While it is essential to do a good business, I am the type of person who believes that people deserve to get what they naturally expect to get. Therefore, I was never a big fan of eating "Korean" food that were modified to be safe for business, rather than authentic.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the restaurant I visited tonight called "Anju" met this standard that too many "Korean" restaurants have failed to meet. My friend and I ordered calamari, AAA short ribs and sirloin strip steak. While calamari - or deep-fried squid - was not prepared the way I was used to seeing back in South Korea, the sauce that it came with really brought out the Oriental flavor AND stayed true to its Western influence. As for the short ribs, other than the fries that came as its side, it tasted and looked just like the short ribs you would order from a genuine Korean restaurant and lacked any western influence. Sirloin strip steak was prepared like any sirloin strip steak that you would order from a steakhouse, except that it was marinated with a Korean barbecue sauce.
It was a fascinatingly delightful experience to try their menu and find out how true they were to the main intent of their restaurant. The chefs and the original inventor of these dishes clearly knew what they were making - their integration of flavors and preparation from Western and Korean cultures seemed almost effortless and as natural as it could be. While the meat for both the steak and rib dishes were a bit too chewy for our liking, they both had some remarkably unique flavors, and eating them was a simply delicious experience. Calimari had all the textures and flavors you could possibly desire from it - perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, but still firm enough to have that fun chewiness you get from a flawlessly roasted squid. The dipping sauce for calimari was bizarre in all the best ways possible; it had flavors commonly found in Korean food market, but, as a whole, it was not something completely non-Western that it would overwhelm non-Korean customers.
My friend and I were lucky enough again to have been there when the restaurant was not busy - in fact, the waitress told us that they were suppose to close due to the day being mostly slow. However, despite our offers of leaving, they decided to keep the restaurant open a little longer to accommodate us. As was the case for the review for Julio's Barrio, I do not know what the quality of service would be like when the restaurant is busy; nonetheless, the waitress' honest attitude, unique to those who simply try too hard to please you, was rather refreshing and worthy of noting.
Like any other decent waitresses, she came by our table often to check our cups and see if we needed a refill, and to ask how we were doing with our meal. What set her apart from other waiters and waitresses I have encountered was that she actually observed us and made sure we were doing okay. At one point during the dinner, she must have seen us gnawing on our ribs/short-rib with difficulty, as she came by shortly after and asked if the meat was too chewy. We said yes - though, so as not to be jerks, we added quickly that both the dishes were very tasty nonetheless - and she went around to fetch us knives and told us that she would inform the chefs to ensure the same mistake is not made.
In my past years of dining experience, I have never been approached by a server when I was visibly not satisfied or having difficulty with what I ordered. The usual case is that I would have to call them over and tell them what is wrong with the meal, regardless of how many times the server walked by to observe me or to ask me how I am doing. Thus, I found it important to point out this part of our overall dining experience at Anju, no matter how trivial it may seem to others. It was truly a great privilege to have been with such a considerate waitress.
Overall, "Anju" will surprise you by living up to its purpose of serving dishes that are a fusion of Korean and Western culinary themes. Despite its sleek interior and a rather high-end look, the prices in the menu are not expensive (appetizers ranging from around $8~10 and main courses ranging from $15~20+) and were also fair based on the quality and the quantity of the dishes. The food there was just amazing and would have been perfect, had the meat not been a tad too chewy. The service was beyond satisfactory - it truly reminded me of why something like a robot can never replace people in service industries.
Last but not least, would I come back to this place? Definitely.
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