Lunch Escapade to Nepal

There is a cosy restaurant on top of a store in the middle of the West End. It is called Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, Nepal style food made with fresh spices from Nepal by the most pleasant Nepalese owners and servers.

Line ups are a standard at lunch, but a more civilized 1:30 pm lunch meant we had the place to ourselves and being able to not only enjoy the food but detailed food discussions with the servers.

A sampler of appetizers spiced us up to start. This included Kathmandu Sekuwa (chicken skewers), Chatpate (the Nepal style chat with rice crisps and chickpeas) and Piro Shrimp. You could not get something more unique than this Chatpate. 

Rather than limiting ourselves, we capitalized on the lunch special of three curries and ended up trying five dishes.

- Paalungo; fresh spinach dish with herbs, not creamy as the Indian version
- Aalu-Kaauli; the cauliflower and potatoes
- Sherpa Chicken; Nepal's version of Chicken curry

But my favourites and the more unique and authentic dishes were:

- Kothey: bamboo shoots and beans in a delicious ginger-packed sauce
- Quali: a mix of at least 9 beans and a staple food in Nepal

By now it was too late to stop sampling and we were easily talked into dessert.

A Chai flavoured créme brulé (typical Nepal style) was really nice, reminding me of Meghli. And of course I couldn't resist a white and creamy dessert called Dudhbari.

Definitely an exotic escapade unmatched in its uniqueness anywhere in the city. 

Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen

 1141 Davie Street

 Vancouver, BC

www.gurkha.ca