‘Slow-cooked into tender submission’: The goat curry you must try
This new Indian restaurant mixes the old and the new but whatever you do don’t miss the goat curry.
QWeekend
Don't miss out on the headlines from QWeekend. Followed categories will be added to My News.
I love you but don’t touch my curry, commands pink neon writing across the wall of Old Monk restaurant in Brisbane’s inner-western Rosalie.
If you’ve ordered the Himachali goat curry ($26), then I’m with the sign. The meat has been slow-cooked on the bone into tender submission and steeped in a rich onion and tomato masala. Swatting away any attempts by others to sample the goods is entirely justifiable.
The tiger prawn masala ($27), a riff on a Bengali dish with half a dozen decent-size crustaceans marinated in ginger and garlic and sautéed in tomato and onion masala with coriander is also a fine, deeply flavoured sauce but the prawns themselves rather lack in flavour.
Standards such as butter chicken, fish moilee cooked in coconut milk broth and biryanis incorporating either chicken, goat or cauliflower populate the “large plate” options.
However, Old Monk, which opened a few weeks ago in Baroona Rd, bills itself as “India on a plate, Brisbane in mind” and pledges to redefine traditional Indian cooking by adding a contemporary touch. This is evident in the dishes being described as small and large plates, an extensive vegan and vegetarian section and the addition of several unusual dishes such as an Indo-Chinese Uncle Tso’s cauliflower and the likes of lamb korma being given a tune up with the use of shanks instead.
Considerable effort has gone into the breads and you’ll need them to wipe up any last vestige of the curry sauces. Naans ($5.50) are available in butter, garlic and chives or our choice of sesame, which was terrific. There’s also lachha paratha - crispy, flaky, wholemeal, multi-layered flatbreads with the option of plain, mint or chilli ($6.50). We ordered chilli and our waitress expressed concern about our capacity to cope but while it was delicious it turned out to be almost devoid of heat. There’s also the option of roti in wholemeal or plain ($8/$6).
Earlier, unable to resist the name, we had ordered the joyful flavour balls ($15) from the small plates section. The five golf-ball-size, crispy puffed breads are filled with a cool boiled potato and chickpea mixture with various additions including yoghurt, beetroot or tamarind chutney. They’re texturally appealing but best approached with caution as one bite of the crisp exterior and the filling is on the run.
More appealing on a cold night are the hot spinach, kale and onion pakodas ($12), the crispy clusters fried in chickpea flour ($12) and teamed with yoghurt mint sauce and tamarind chutney.
The room is a modern mix of polished concrete floors, upholstered chairs and a rather hard banquette running along one wall facing the bar, while outdoor settings populate the terrace at the front. The place is busy with groups taking advantage of the $45 banquet menu and families tucking in, the children’s meals including butter chicken with rice or chicken/vegan fried rice.
Desserts include traditional gulab jamun sweet dumplings, Indian ice cream, or an off-theme vegan chocolate brownie.
The restaurant takes its name from an Indian dark rum, which features on the drinks list that includes eight beers including Haywards 5000 Indian premium and Kingfisher lager.
Wines appear to have been selected with budget front of mind and options are limited to two sparklings, four whites (Australian, NZ and Italian), a French rosé and four Australian reds, all available by the glass and delivered pre-poured ($10-12) or bottle ($45-55).
Service covers the basics but is warm, water glasses are topped up regularly, dishes arrive in a timely manner, and bills are paid at the bar, where customers also arrive to pick up takeaway.
This is a bustling enterprise with a solid line-up for traditionalists and some quirky touches for those with a sense of adventure.
Old Monk
1/151 Baroona Rd, Rosalie
3195 1262
oldmonkbne.com.au
Open
Seven days from 4.30pm
Must try
Himachali goat curry
Verdict
Food
Service
Ambience
Value
Overall
Behind-the-scenes secrets of Channel 7’s real-life romance
After sparks flew in the newsroom five years ago, this TV couple has gone onto travel the world together and don’t plan on slowing down.
Restaurant reviewer loses it over $215 piece of fish
A piece of fish for $215? We may be in a cost of living crisis, but it seems somebody has forgotten to alert the owner of this new Aussie restaurant.