A Moment For: Moon Mart’s Fried Chicken and Rice Set

A deep-fried whole chicken was the signature dish at Moon Park, the now-closed Sydney restaurant led by chefs Eun Hee An and Ben Sears. With a fried chicken and rice set now on the all-day menu at Moon Mart, the beloved South Melbourne cafe Hee An runs with Mei Onsamlee, the chef is back in the fried chicken game.

“One of my favourite things is eating soy and syrup (ganjang) chicken. I made it for staff meal once and Mei was like, ‘Why are you not putting this on the menu?’” Hee An says. “I got told off.”

For the set, chicken thighs are marinated in buttermilk, fish sauce and salted krill for at least two days. “It’s a very mild marination – by marinating for two days, the saltiness of fish sauce and krill gently soaks into the chicken and gives it the flavour without curing the meat,” Hee An says. It’s then coated in flour and potato starch before it’s fried and glazed with a mix of soy sauce, ginger, lemon, kombu and maple syrup. “I used to live in Canada, so it’s in my blood.”

The set comes with rice, coleslaw with corn, pickled daikon and kimchi. “Fried chicken was a treat at my home,” the chef, who grew up in Korea, adds. “So I just put every part of my childhood on the tray.”

What: Fried chicken rice set
Where: Moon Mart in South Melbourne
When: 9am–3pm daily
Price: $32