When “circumstances outside our control” led West Melbourne gem Moon Mart to close in late September, it could’ve sullied the team’s characteristically sunny disposition.

But instead – in less than a month – owners Eun Hee An (ex-Moon Park and Paper Bird) and Mei Onsamlee (ex-Momofuku Seiobo) have hustled to transplant their Japanese- and Korean-influenced cafe to a new site, across the river in South Melbourne. Now trading on Clarendon Street, it’s part of a boom of exciting new openings in the ’burb.

But, importantly, it’s still got the heart, soul and pops of yellow of its West Melbourne predecessor, where a loyal fandom was born.

“So far everyone has been amazingly positive, which has been so nice,” says Hee An. “We were a little worried about losing some of the cute charm of the original, so it’s super nice to hear people say they love it.”

And how could you not, when most favourites remain firmly on the menu, including funky kimchi jaffles, okonomiyaki-style hash browns and tonkatsu galore?

“I’ve accepted that I will be making tonkatsu for the rest of my life,” says Hee An, with a laugh.

“But [the move] also felt like a really good opportunity to try some new fun ideas,” she continues.

That means more shokupan (Japanese milk bread) toast options – will it be curried scrambled egg, or smoked Ora King salmon rillettes with green-tomato pickle? There’s also a new unagi (eel) katsu sando with tomato and yuzu-jalapeno mayo.

And in the sweets department, Hee An says that scoring a refrigerated display cabinet means there’s more scope to play with pastry. She’s particularly excited about the “konbini-vibe” Swiss rolls in flavours such as yuzu and strawberry, and matcha.

Settling into South Melbourne is the number-one priority right now, but watch this space: there’s a liquor licence and monthly dinner pop-ups in Moon Mart’s near future.

Open daily, 8am-3pm

315 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, moonmart.com.au