Though many restaurants talk the talk, when it comes to catering to dietary requirements a sizeable chunk of them don’t really walk the walk. Of course, we’ve come a long way from the days of our vegan pals settling for a garden salad (hold the dressing), but there’s always room for improvement. For brand-new Asian eatery Oh Monk, inclusivity has been baked into the concept from the very beginning. The colour-soaked suburban joint, a cosy 20-seater found on Denham Terrace in Tarragindi, is proving that a balanced menu can be attained – with all diets catered for – while still maintaining the same bold flavours that those without constraints often enjoy guilt-free. Loads of Asian recipes, many of which are incredibly rich in vegetables, have been tougher to translate into plant-based and gluten-free renditions due to the abundance of wheat (prominent in soy sauce, thickeners and noodles) and animal products in various sauces (fish sauce and fermented shrimp being popular examples). Oh Monk has gone the whole nine yards to make its menu accessible, tinkering with recipes for its sauces, seasonings and marinades. But that’s not all – Oh Monk is using a separate fryer for deep frying the likes of its gluten-free karaage chicken, made its own Japanese curry roux using alternative flour, utilising soy, oyster and fish sauce from MegaChef that do not contain any wheat or gluten, and substituting beef mince for Fable Food mushroom as the filling for its Malaysian-inspired murtabak.

Though positioned as a simple neighbourhood eatery, a quick-service option that can service the dine-in, takeaway and delivery crowds, Oh Monk’s menu boasts an incredible amount of depth. This comes courtesy of head chef and co-owner Chef Batt, who has applied his Michelin-starred training attained at Le Du in Bangkok (as well as experience working at restaurants like LONgTIME and Pawpaw) to Oh Monk’s cleverly crafted range of dishes. A not-so-small selection of small plates will have snack lovers in a state of ecstasy, with the likes of chicken katsu sandos with slaw and sriracha mayo, vegan spring rolls filled with cabbage, vermicelli and pea (plus chilli-caramel sauce, for dipping), nori pepper calamari, popcorn cauliflower, and shoyu-cured salmon on rice-paper crackers threatening to fill you up before hitting the mains. Oh Monk’s salads are far beyond the norm – the slow-cooked beef rib and pawpaw salad, and Oh Monk’s duck jang mien with sweet-potato noodles are stand-alone sensations. But be sure to save room for the larger plates, or bring enough pals to share. Serves of slow-cooked Angus beef-cheek massaman curries, wok-tossed tempeh with seasonal greens (gluten-free and vegan), gluten-free prik king dry curry stir-fry and lemongrass honey chicken are but a few of the sizeable showstoppers at the menu’s heartier end.

Oh Monk is officially opening to the public on Thursday May 11 and will be running an opening special where orders above $40 will receive a free serve of karaage chicken (valid until Sunday May 21). Head to the Stumble Guide for operating hours, menu details and other info.

Images supplied by Oh Monk