Walking into Yangga feels like walking into a home.

On one side of the shop, staff are rolling out fresh kimbap and hand-making mandu on wooden tabletops. On the other there’s an open fridge packed with an impressive variety of house-made banchan (Korean side dishes). And behind striking wooden and glass panels, the kitchen team is hustling other Korean dining staples.

Tucked away in a corner of Chatswood Chase shopping centre’s dining floor, the family-run joint draws inspiration from old-school Korean kitchens. Owner Jane Yang and her daughter-in-law, Jenny Kim, designed the fit-outs of both the new Chatswood space and their flagship in Rhodes Shopping Centre. The memo? Beiges and browns with a modern twist – a cut above your standard food court digs.

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“[I didn’t want to] open up a shop in Koreatown aimed at Korean people,” Yang tells Broadsheet. “I wanted to come into shopping centres – I wanted to introduce my food to Western people.”

A big part of that initiation process is getting people on board with banchan – a must on a “proper Korean dining table”, Yang says.

Made on-site daily by Yang and her team, these side dishes include kimchi and crunchy radish salads (with plenty of kick) – plus delicacies like raw marinated crab and an umami-packed soft squid that’s been fermented and salted.

“I’m trying to make as many Korean side dishes as I can, and then [customers] can choose as many as they want to make up their own dining table.”

On the heartier side are meals like oxtail soup (boasting meat that slides off the bone in a collagen-rich broth) and Korean army stew, a Yangga favourite. The one-pot wonder delivers a spicy, savoury soup that’s devoured piping hot with instant noodles, tofu, veggies and Spam.

“When we look at the Korean dining table, we have rice, soup, a hot pot, vegetables, fish and a pickled or marinated dish,” Yang says. “It has mildness, saltiness, sweetness and spiciness. Everything exists on one table.”

Yangga’s bright offering does it all: pop in to select a few containers to complement something you’re cooking at home, or grab the whole meal. “I like to cook as if I were serving my family,” Yang says. “I’m picky with the ingredients that I get, I check everything – I cook with my heart.”

With its colourful, fully stocked fridge and homely interiors, Yangga feels like the friend’s house you stop by before dinner. And Yang beckons us to sit down for a proper Korean meal.

Yangga
365 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood
+61 450 622 558

Hours:
Mon to Wed 9.30am–6.30pm
Thu 9.30am–7pm
Fri to Sun 9.30am–6.30pm

@yanggafoods