Owner John Anh visualized a place in Edmonton where diners could eat traditional Korean fare in a modern space and invested $200,000 to bring his vision to life with the help of local designer Nicole Lawlor. Introducing NongBu, a new Korean eatery where minimalistic design materials including wood, steel and concrete in the dining room makes way for splashy K-Pop art in the bathrooms. Inside the 40-seat restaurant, Anh works with a team of four chefs to invent variations on popular Korean fare such as lettuce wraps stuffed with braised pork shoulder, rib-eye or spicy tofu, served with a variety of veggies (individual, $17; sharing, $32), and street food such as mungbean pancakes and seafood crêpes. It’s all part of a small menu of 12 items that changes regularly. As guests chow down, black-and-white movies from the ’50s and ’60s are projected on the wall.
8115 104 St. N.W., Edmonton
