gurkha himalayan kitchen

if you are looking to have some authentic desi chinese nepali food, this is the place you have to be. it good and pocket friendly situated in vancouver downtown.
portion size is more than sufficient.
we ordered 3 items:

vegetable noodles: perfectly cooked with spicy level of my taste and huge portion.

nepali chicken: this is the 1st time i tried this and it was awesome. it was drychickenvery well cooked. it is a must try for any who loves garlic or chilli chicken.

momos(jhol): cooked well but we gravy was not that i liked(not a big fan of tomato gravy)

when we saw that gurkha himalayan kitchen had prepared a picnic 2 go for dov, we were all in. gurkha is located on davie street where you can't miss them, beside the shoppers drug mart. we gathered up 2 bags of picnic and walked down the hill to sunset beach, the perfect dining room. there we took stock of our little feast which cost only $20 each for the two of us. for appetizers, we chose one order ofchickenmomos and one order of vegetarian momos. while momos can be a pretty sturdy dumpling, we found these to be pleasantly chewy and with a tasty filling. the dips, of course, round out the experience, one being cilantro based, a sort of milder curry and one fairly spicy sauce.we chosechickennoodles as one of our mains. there was a lot of this! tasty saucy noodles and a decent amount ofchickenand vegetables. this was not too spicy and seemed like an asian leaning sauce which was rich and had some depth! next was thechickencurry. again this was a generous portion with rice. i always whine about takeout butterchickenbeing all sauce but this was the opposite. there was a little bit of heat in this delicious curry and was great with basmati rice. one of these mains also came with lentils which always make me happy. finally 2 tasty and refreshing desserts. one was coconut rice pudding which i could eat all day long. the other was cheese pistachio lush. i had never heard of this before but apparently, it is a layered dessert based on a cheesecake? i'm not quite sure as its hard to google a definition without ending up at a cosmetics store. the picnic came with a soft drink and we ended up with a lot left over for the next day. they have a comfortable little dining room and lots of patio space at ghk where you can dine a little remote from the noise of davie street. this was our best of all 3 of our dov experiences and highly recommend that you give it a try.

this place is small but cozy and it’s the best thing about this place. haku momo was average. it was a tasty filling inside but outside was deep fried. noodles was the best food among all the others we had.chickenwas average in taste. but the person recommended a thai bread which was really nice. overall an average place to eat south-asian food.

we went to this place because of an attractive deal that we saw on groupon. the ambience was good, interiors were fine.

we ordered dumplings,chickennoodles, tibetan bread andchickencurry preparation. the food was overall very bland in taste except the noodles and the bread. the dumplings were hard and chewy to bite into, the curry lacked flavor or aroma of any spices. the noodles was decent, but hardly anychickenin it. the bread was soft and fine in taste.

not a place that i recommend personally until they do some major changes in cooking.

a few days ago i had the pleasant opportunity to eat out at gurkha – himalayan kitchen in vancouver, bc. not too many places serve himalayan food, so i jumped at the opportunity to come here when i saw their deal on groupon. the best way for me to describe himalayan food is to mix traditional chinese and indian food together – the outcome is most delicious! i came to gurkha during the afternoon. they are only open for lunch for 2 hours (12-2) during the day so plan wisely if you plan on coming here. inside it is pleasantly decorated, but a bit dark. my server was a friendly woman who was very knowledgeable with regards to the menu and answered all my questions perfectly. i orderedchickenmomos (dumpling…must try), kathmandu sekuwa (meat skewers), phuraula (lentil patties), gorkhali khasi (goat), gurkha pulau (rice), and a tingmo (steamed bread). all the orders were absolutely delicious. the chef did an amazing job with the spices; the meat was tender, especially the goat; the rice was full of colour and flavour; the bread was so fluffy and chewy; and the dumpling were simply fun to eat. on the other hand, the lentil patties tasted a bit dull – they reminded me of bagels, but more dense with less flavour. the momos too were a bit (just a bit) of a disappointment – yes, they were delicious and the wrapping was the most beautiful wrapping that i have ever seen on a dumpling, but the dipping sauces were lacking flavour. the same dipping sauces were used for the sekuwas and the phuraulas as well; however, the sekuwas were so wonderfully marinated and spiced i did not need the sauces to enjoy the dish :).

maybe it’s my choices, but i swear the sherpachickenis really similar to what we had at yak & yeti – sauce wise at least. thechickenwas plentiful and was not overly dry. i personally did not enjoy the sauce as i thought it was on the bland side. the way the sherpachickenwas advertised on the menu, i was expecting a spicy curry but for it tasted more like butterchicken– it even looked like butter chicken. lamb chili – unlike my dish, sara’s choice was much better. the lamb chili was not a curry or a sauce but more of a stir fry. the dish had a lot flavor from the spices. on the menu, it says the lamb chili can be prepared in either a “nepali or tibetan version”. i don’t recall we were asked so i am not sure which version we had. while the dish had great flavors, the lamb was on the tough side.

dissapointed. -waitress friendly, but service was low.
-waitress very slow, and coughed all over the food. didn't cover her mouth when coughing.
- food mediocre. whole wheat roti super disappointing. it was so hard and rough though it was plaster... and it was cold. i suspect it may have been leftovers from last nights dinner service.
- ordered an entrée. the sherpa chicken. expected to have rice included with it. got a mini bowl of soupychickenwith no rice. tasted not bad but soupy.
- kebab appetizer was great. reminds me of souvlaki.
-smaller portions than i expected for the price.

... suspiciously similar to butterchickenboth visually and flavor-wise, but so tasty!chickenwas particularly tender and juicy, not a single piece was dried out or overcooked; consistent rating from last visit in nov 2012!...

authentic nepali food!. we've always been disappointed in the lack of nepali cuisine in canada until we found gurkha! in fact, we recently moved from toronto to vancouver and this is the first time we've encountered authentic nepali cuisine. we had the kothey momos, the sekuwa chicken, daal bhat maasu, and himalichickenand it was all delicious.

go now!

first time dining and first impression was a very accommodating staff.
tasted both vegetarian and meat steamed momos. at a buck a piece i will only recommend the meat as they are heartier and tastier than the vegetarian version.
our table ordered three different dishes and they were all tasty and spicy. i thought the $21 mixed dinner was over priced for what you get. the idea of a salad lays on the tray to utterly destroy any semblance of complete meal. if they could improve the salad it would make this entree worth the money as thechickenand dahl were very good. i'm not a big fan of lamb, but it too was good although all three were quite small portions. this tray was shared,so the tiny roti that came with it was not near enough for two to enjoy with the curries.
a week flavored chai should be improved to make it a better all round dinner.
i will return based on the many dishes i would like to try as well as for the friendliness of the staff.

really happy we checked it out!. didn't want to trek far so we decided on gurkha and it's a new favourite! really good appy's (taas and steamed veggie dumplings) and shared thechickencurry and the pan fried meat dumplings as a main. everything was flavourful and not greasy or overly spicy (though you specify your spice levels and we went for mild). we shared the nepalese milk/pistachio dessert, which was awesome. service very welcoming and the chef even came out later and did a walk around to see that everyone was happy. will definitely return!

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 - sherpachicken; nepal's version ofchickencurry but my favourites and the more unique and authentic dishes

great food from the mountains.. i recently had an opportunity to try out this new restaurant gurkha himalayan kitchen in davie street, found out they serve very delicious tibetan style momos and some of the best curries you can have.their ambience represents very cozy and your own dining room type experience. we were a group of three and had the opportunity to try theirchickencurry, goat curry and sauteed spinach. we loved the balance of flavor and the way they were presented to us. our server was very hospitable and took care of our needs without any rush. she took time to explain the food and little bit about the nepali culture itself as well. meal portions were just perfect as we were fully stuffed. we found their menu very reasonable as there was nothing priced over $15.00 in the whole menu. total bill for all three of us was less then $75.00 inclusive taxes which included plenty of appy and the dinner menu. all in all, we found this restaurant a great place to go to for flavorful food in the neighborhood.

deliscously flavourful. great flavour
by platonist1 of vancouver (1 review)
submitted thursday, march 22, 2012 - 6:59pm [dine in]

overall, a great dining experience where the food has flavour. i certainly recommend people go there for a meal.

we went to gurkha for a change of scenery from the usual fare on davie street. the food was excellent because the food was very flavourful and the flavours were quite distinct. it was a nice change to have food that was not overly westernized.

we ordered the kathmandy sekuwa for as an appetizer. thechickenis definitely spicy, but has the distinct benefit of being flavourful. i am not a fan of spice for the sake of spice and this dish was delicious. overall, the sekuwa was succulent and full of flavour.

we had the potato salad with beaten rice. the salad had a very distinct and pleasant taste.

the two entrees we tried were the paalungo (spinach and potato in a seed sauce) and the gorkhali khasi (a goat stew with rice). both were deliciously flavourful and well cooked.

we also tried lassi, basically a yogurt and mango smoothie - very tasty, excellent texture, best saved for desert, but still not overly sweet.

criticisms: the rice was either a bit old or of insufficient quality. since the restaurant is new, i expect the rice will be fresher when the restaurant picks up more business. the tomato chutney was also lacking in flavour - but the whole wheat roti was a nice change from the white flour flat breads you usually get.

lastly, the venue itself: the restaurant is very pleasant and simple. it was nice to dine in a restaurant where the tvs are not on in every corner and the ambient music is quiet.