The gut-healing kitchen hidden behind a Merewether church

Tucked away behind Merewether’s Saint Augustine’s Anglican Church sits Private Kitchen 44’s humble food truck kitchen, framed by a lush jungle of greenery. The team is wrapping up the afternoon lunch rush, packing takeaway pho dinners for their loyal regulars.

For almost two years, Private Kitchen 44 has been serving Novocastrians seeking healthier food options through its gut health-focused take on traditional Chinese dishes.

The growing community of loyal customers is proof of the kitchen’s healing-food philosophy, one that focuses not only on gut health, but overall wellbeing.

Private Kitchen acts as a passion project for owners Jane Huang and Josh Zhao, who work in environmental science and engineering outside of the kitchen.

As an environmental scientist, Jane brings both scientific knowledge and more than 20 years of cooking experience in Chinese kitchens to the business. Private Kitchen 44 has become her creative outlet, blending her expertise in food, sustainability and functional health to benefit the Newcastle community. 

Meanwhile, Josh manages the operational side of the business while helping in the kitchen wherever needed, a complementary balance that keeps the dynamic duo’s gut-healing kitchen running smoothly.

Owners of Private Kitchen 44: Josh Zhao and Jane Huang

Though Jane still describes cooking as “a hobby”, her deeply researched recipes and gut health-focused meals feel far more intentional than a side passion project. Private Kitchen 44 places a strong emphasis on environmentally sustainable practices, incorporating permaculture methods and composting as many food scraps as possible.

Through her vast knowledge of gut health and her background in environmental science, Jane hopes to further educate the community on how cleaner, healthier, and environmentally conscious eating can improve overall wellbeing.

The couple are on a feel-good food mission to bring Novocastrians nourishing traditional Chinese dishes while sharing the benefits of mindful eating and healthier living. Happy gut, happy life! 

What they’re DisHhing up

Private Kitchen 44 is serving up a tasty gut-friendly take on traditional Chinese dishes. Every recipe is  designed to support different areas of gut health using fresh, organic, and gluten-free-friendly ingredients.

Each ingredient is intentionally selected to promote better digestion, reduced inflammation and overall wellness. The kitchen has even partnered with a health and wellbeing brand behind a specialised active curcumin elixir packed with probiotics and postbiotics, which is incorporated into select menu items and also available to purchase separately for your daily wellness routine.

If you’re searching for a healthy lunch option that leaves you feeling genuinely good afterwards, look no further!

Our must-tries from the kitchen

The menu is a mix of hearty broths, vibrant salads, in-house fermented kimchi, and even a range of pho. I asked Jane about the origin of her pho recipe, and she explained that Chinese pho tastes very different from Vietnamese pho, a variety more commonly recognised in Western countries than outside Asia that has a distinctly different flavour profile.

Brothie
The fan favourite customers are buying by the litre. This homemade 24-hour collagen-rich bone broth is designed to promote gut health and healing. Organic chicken, grass-fed beef bones, apple cider vinegar, and herbs are slow-cooked into a deeply nourishing broth that feels comforting, clean and surprisingly sweet. One cup won’t be enough.

Sour & Spicy Pho
A traditional recipe inspired by Jane’s hometown in China, this rich and flavourful pho combines organic tomato sauce, housemade chilli oil, apple cider vinegar, coconut sugar, stir-fried meat, onions, mushrooms, and coriander with the kitchen’s signature bone broth.

Served with mung bean glass noodles chosen specifically for their gut health benefits, the result is a deeply satisfying bowl packed with bold flavour and healing ingredients.

Grass-Fed Beef Pho
Starting with the kitchen’s signature bone broth, this traditional pho is layered with warming spices and gut-friendly sauces. Served with slow-cooked grass-fed beef brisket, mung bean glass noodles, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, and the kitchen’s housemade chilli garlic paste, every bowl is rich, comforting and deeply nourishing. You’ll probably be ordering a second serve for dinner.

Free-Range Chicken Salad
Slow-cooked chilli chicken with bean sprouts, spring onions and kale, tossed in a housemade chilli oil-inspired dressing packed with warming spices and bold flavour. Fresh, vibrant and deeply satisfying, this salad leaves both your taste buds and gut feeling happy.

Beef Brisket Pear Dill Salad
Grass-fed beef, pear and fennel salad tossed with a housemade ginger, garlic, parsley, mint, and chilli paste, balanced with Sichuan peppercorn, organic tamari, apple cider vinegar, and organic agave syrup. Refreshing flavours meet tender, juicy beef in this nourishing crowd favourite.

Housemade Kimchi
Fermented fresh daily in-house, the popular kimchi delivers the perfect instant gut-health boost.

Pure Summer Drink
A refreshing housemade kombucha that pairs perfectly with every meal on the menu. Blended with lychee, pineapple, berry purée and the kitchen’s signature probiotic and postbiotic elixir, it’s the ultimate feel-good sip.

Bulletproof Coffee
Made using the kitchen’s organic coffee, this energising blend combines ceremonial cacao, butter, coconut oil, hemp protein, collagen, whey protein and MCT for the ultimate morning boost.

Gut-Healthy Baked Goods
Choose from a range of gluten-free, nourishing baked treats, including incredibly moist carrot cake and keto-friendly muffins that make going back for seconds feel completely justified.

What’s next for Private Kitchen 44?

Rather than expanding, the dynamic duo wants to “go deeper” with the business through community education and gut health-focused teaching programs.

Future plans include expanding its community-focused education through cooking workshops, gala dinners, tailored healthy-eating programs, and gut-health initiatives, while continuing its much-loved Thursday night dinners.

Follow Private Kitchen 44 on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with upcoming workshops, menus and events!

The rundown
→  A gut health-focused take on Chinese
→  Fresh, spicy and nourishing flavours
→  Comfort food designed to leave you feeling genuinely good $
→  Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options
→  Housemade broths, fresh salads, and fermented drinks your gut will thank you for!

The DisHh features are booked anonymously and paid independently by HUNTERhunter. A restaurant cannot pay to be featured in The DisHh.