First Look: Chicken Is Fried, Smashed and Smothered in Sambal at Chinatown’s Geprek

A meal at new Chinatown restaurant Geprek in Melbourne is about one thing – ayam geprek: smashed fried chicken slathered in sambal. To make its ayam geprek, the team marinates chicken in a spice blend that includes garlic and chilli powder, batters and deep-fries it until golden brown, and then crushes it with a mortar and pestle as soon as it comes out of the fryer. The crisp, spicy smashed-up chicken is then topped with your choice of sambal and served on rice with cooling cucumber slices on the side.

In Indonesia, the dish is a staple often found at small, family-run eateries called warungs. This modern warung chain was founded by Indonesian couple Anthony Sandoval and Vivian Veronica, who popped up at Sydney’s Burwood Chinatown Night Markets for a year before opening a takeaway kiosk in Sydney’s Chinatown in 2023. They’ve now expanded to Melbourne with Geprek’s first dine-in spot at Midtown Melbourne in Chinatown.

The couple is passionate about bringing different sambals to the mainstream. “Indonesia is a big country, and each province has its own version of sambal. As well as serving the most general – sambal terasi – we want Australians to taste sambals from different regions,” Sandoval tells Broadsheet.

Here, there are five sambals with varying spice levels including Balinese sambal matah, a mix of red chilli, lemongrass and shallots; sambalado, made with shallots, garlic, chilli, tomato and lime; green chilli-based West Sumatran sambal cabe ijo; and the spiciest of the lot, Javanese sambal bawang. All the sambals are made with fresh peppers, cooked for five hours and mixed with coconut oil just before they’re served.

For something milder, the ayam geprek also comes with rendang curry, salted egg sauce, mentai (Japanese sweet mayonnaise), truffle mentai or satay sauce. You can also substitute plain rice for other carbs such as Indomie noodles or coconut rice, and add toppings including a fried egg, mozzarella and extra sauce.

Geprek in Melbourne
Shop 13 Midtown, Melbourne

Hours:
Sun to Thu 11am–9pm
Fri & Sat 11am–9.30pm

@geprekinaustralia