Have you tossed a bibimbap recently? Nibbled some banchan? If you have, you’re partaking in Melbourne’s K-wave, a surging interest in Korean cuisine. Still best known in Australia for fried chicken and DIY barbecue, Korean food is growing in popularity, driven by innovative Korean-born chefs who are showcasing more diverse expressions of their cuisine of origin.

“It’s getting better and better,” says Levi Eun, a chef at Ondo, a Korean cafe that has locations in Armadale and the CBD, and is frequently beset by queueing hopefuls.

“A lot of people are interested in Korean food and culture nowadays, maybe because of K-Pop. It’s a good time to showcase more types of Korean food.”

Ondo serves traditional bansang meal sets: rice and side dishes accompany a hero protein, such as seasoned raw beef, steamed fish or grilled pork. Chai and oat latte are on the menu, but there are also Korean drinks such as cinnamon punch and a creamy butternut squash beverage.

A key proponent of Korean food in Melbourne is chef Jung Eun Chae, who runs six-seat Chae in Cockatoo, east of the city. The restaurant serves only 24 people a week, but its influence is outsized, with thousands of keen diners entering a monthly lottery for the chance to dine in the restaurant Chae runs in her home kitchen.

She points to Melbourne’s openness to new culinary experiences as a key factor in Korean food’s popularity, notes a broader K-wave of pop music and film, and believes the pandemic has been a factor too. “Korean cuisine has gained attention for its association with healthy eating,” she says.

“Iconic Korean dishes like kimchi, rich in probiotics due to the fermentation process, have become synonymous with gut health and immune system support. This focus on natural and wholesome ingredients resonates, making Korean food an attractive choice.”

Chef Sangsoo Kim uses some Korean techniques at hatted restaurant Jamesin South Melbourne and believes broader familiarity with fermented foods has opened a door. “For Western people, kimchi was too spicy or too fermented, but now people have at least tried it,” he says.

The Korean population in Melbourne has remained steady, at about 14,000 in the 2016 and 2021 censuses, but Korean chefs who were already here cooking Western food are feeling confident to lean into their origins.

Kim points to Melbourne restaurants like Serai, which riffs on Filipino food, and Aru, which incorporates Vietnamese ideas, as a spur to broader Asian pride. “Korean chefs are expressing their heritage more and putting it into the Melbourne scene,” he says. “We become more confident to use our own ingredients.”

Mika Chae is leaving the head chef position at Launceston’s Grain of the Silos to open his own 40-seat Melbourne restaurant, Doju, in November. “I can see a lot of vibe, a lot of Korean chefs in Melbourne doing different things,” he says. “I will create my own way, not traditional but with Korean elements that show the depth of Korean food.”

He describes a dish of salted, marinated raw calamari on rice seasoned with sesame oil: it’s a little bit arancini, a little bit bibimbap, 100 per cent Melbourne.

“There’s a lot more to Korean food beyond fried chicken and barbecue,” he says. “A lot of people start a business like that because it’s popular, but when I went to Korea this year, I remembered there are so many other types of Korean food. I realised I forgot a lot of dishes because I didn’t see them here.”

There’s a long way to go. “Korean dining will continue its upward trajectory,” says Chae. “I anticipate the opening of many places that offer unique concepts, focusing on lesser-known menus and beverages, further enriching the Korean culinary landscape and cementing a position as a culinary destination for curious diners.”

The potential is limitless. “I’m happy that it’s more recognised,” says Kim. “But this is just the beginning.”

New-wave Korean restaurants

Chae
Six-seat hard-to-book Korean traditional food in a country home.
33 Mountain Road, Cockatoo, chae.com.au

James
This hatted restaurant is more modern Asian than Korean but foundational Korean ingredients, such as gochujang, are made in-house.
323 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, jamessouthmelbourne.com.au

Moon Mart
A cafe that melds Melbourne moods with Korean flavours. Try the kimchi jaffle with fermented garlic honey.
11-13 Stawell Street, West Melbourne, moonmart.com.au

Ondo
Daytime cafes centred around Korean drinks and bansang meal sets. Try dwaeji galbi, the soy-marinated grilled pork neck.
115 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, and 48 Wattletree Road, Armadale, instagram.com/ondo_melb

Korean 101

Banchan
A selection of tiny side dishes – often fermented, and very seasonal – served with meals.

Bibimbap
Rice bowl with toppings, mixed by the diner.

Doenjang
The Korean version of miso, this fermented soybean paste is a byproduct of making soy sauce.

Gochugaru
Korean chilli flakes, which are warm and rounded in flavour, rather than especially spicy.

Gochujang
A spicy fermented soybean paste.

Kimchi
Classically made with cabbage, kimchi is a fermented vegetable condiment that is in every Korean pantry and on every dining table.