First Look: At New Abbotsford Spot Chun’s Kalguksu, Two Sisters Continue a Family Noodle Legacy

Visit at a certain time of day in winter and, from the footpath, Chun’s Kalguksu is almost obscured by condensation. Behind the fogged-up front window, diners hunch over steaming bowls, while sisters Sharon and Joanna Chun make noodles by hand in the kitchen.

The new Richmond restaurant is the Melbourne continuation of a family business that began in Strathfield, Sydney, in 2005, when Sharon and Joanna’s parents, Seon Kyu Suk and In Wook Chun, opened Hand Made Noodle. Over the course of 20 years, it became the sort of local haunt people folded into their routines and family traditions. As their parents approached retirement, Sharon and Joanna decided they were not ready to let that story end.

“Our goal is simple: to bring Melbourne the same comforting bowls of handmade kalguksu that have been loved by our Sydney community for over 20 years,” Joanna says.

Kalguksu is a dish of knife-cut noodles in broth, and, as the shop’s name implies, it’s the star at Chun’s. The dough is made from scratch, kneaded, rolled and cut in-house every day. The texture lands in a carefully balanced middle ground: it’s soft enough to take on broth, but has enough chew to keep each mouthful satisfying. “Too thick or too thin, and the whole eating experience changes,” Sharon says.

The signature bowl is the plain kalguksu: hand-cut noodles in a clear anchovy broth with zucchini and clams. It’s simple on paper, but not slight. The broth – built on anchovies, radish and onion – simmers for up to two hours, picking up a depth of flavour while avoiding the heaviness of many rich noodle soups. The chicken kalguksu goes in another direction, gentler and rounder, topped with strips of chicken in a separate broth of its own. Then there is kaljebi, a combination of vegetables, clams and sujebi (a soup made with pulled dough), with hand-torn noodles giving the bowl a thicker, more rustic bite.

The room and the menu are both simple. There is no long preamble, no overworked concept or fancy fit-out. Besides the signature bowls, there are lighter noodle soups like kimchi janchi-guksu (thin wheat noodles in a light broth), plus bowls of bibimbap, including a bulgogi version and a vegetarian option.

Still, the details matter. The kimchi is made fresh every morning rather than being left to ferment. With garlic and a clean hit of spice, it’s designed to cut through the richness of the broth with crunch. There’s also a soy and green chilli dipping sauce on each table. You can stir it through the soup, but the sisters have another suggestion: take a hit of chilli with each bite of noodles instead.

The Chuns say their version of kalguksu is inspired by the bowls served in Seoul’s local markets. “Nothing too fancy,” Joanna says. “Simple, humble, and deeply comforting.”

Melbourne has no shortage of Korean barbeque, tteokbokki and gukbap. Chun’s, like other new specialty Korean venues Sagye and Gamja Hotteok, offers something narrower and more specific: a restaurant focused on one dish and serving it with care. “We realised there were very few restaurants dedicated to mastering a single dish in the way that many restaurants do in Korea,” Sharon says. “We wanted to change that.”

Chun’s Kalguksu
285A Victoria Street, Abbotsford
0450 239 931

Hours:
Mon to Sat 11.30am–3pm, 5pm–8pm

@chunskalguksu