Long drive,isn’t it? Well,it’s a blip in the Chae universe,where dishes can be two years in the making. There’s the drying,fermenting and ageing needed for soy sauce,gochujang and doenjang. Soon,a year will be added for drying salt until it’s just right for Korean ferments. All this before anything hits the kitchen.

But it’s what sets apart these beef ribs,marinated in chef Jung Eun Chae’s own sesame oil then wrapped in lettuce with kimchi and peppery ssamjang. Smoky beef jerky is one of four gorgeous snacks. A gentle broth pools around Murray cod with spring onion and mussels,and pumpkin is an icy after-dinner treat. Health-giving teas and kombucha come in gorgeous cups made by Melbourne and Korean ceramicists.

Every laboriously made condiment can be bought,too,a small piece of the Chae magic to take home.

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Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs

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