Gganbu is shaped around the sociable side of Korean dining, where a table orders several dishes and the meal builds through contrasts rather than a strict sequence of courses. The Ponsonby restaurant serves lunch and dinner from its Jervois Road dining room, and many of its platters are deliberately substantial. A group can centre the table on fried chicken, bubbling soup or grilled pork, then add rice, noodles and pancakes as the conversation stretches on.
Korean fried chicken is a major draw, but it is not confined to one house sauce. A whole crisp bird offers the market-style starting point, while boneless options move through garlic butter, sweet chilli, soy and chilli, Cajun seasoning and a cereal crust. The ban ban order splits original and sweet flavours in one serve, and the especially hot Angry Chicken sits at the far end of the spice scale for diners who actively want the heat.
The larger shared dishes bring more variety than chicken alone. Grilled pork belly arrives with lettuce, roasted garlic and sesame and soybean dips, while sweet-soy and gochujang versions adjust the marinade and accompaniments. Cheese tteokbokki combines rice cakes, fish cake, noodles and vegetables in spicy sauce, and the soups are sized for two or three, with pork backbone, seafood, soft tofu, kimchi, soybean and budae combinations to choose from.
Smaller appetites can focus on chicken bibimbap or ttukbaegi bulgogi with beef, vegetables and glass noodles. Fried rice, japchae and savoury pancakes filled with seafood, prawns, chives, kimchi or vegetables also make useful additions when several people are sharing. Korean pear and grape drinks, cream soda and milk give non-alcoholic choices that fit the food, leaving the table free to range from crisp and spicy dishes to gentler rice and noodle plates.
Address: 38 Jervois Road, Ponsonby, Auckland 1011, New Zealand
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