Walked past Gurkha's Cafe in Prahran a million times but never actually stopped in, but that all ends tonight. This Nepalese restaurant has been on Chapel Street longer than I have and already had a good crowd when I arrived a little after 6pm, so presumably it's doing something right.
The waitress gave me a wicker basket with a couple of papadums and a little bowl of spicy dipping sauce as soon as I sat down which was really tasty and quite hot (curry based I think, not chilli). For entree I ordered the tandoor prawns. This was a skewer of six pieces on a bed of saffron rice and a side salad. Very tasty, and very good value at just $12.
Speaking of good value, they have cocktails on the drinks menu at an average price of $9 each so I ordered a Brandy Alexander to sip on while I checked out the rest of the menu. This is pretty extensive but as I hadn't eaten here before I ordered the Mixed Entree Platter for $22.
This included a lamb cutlet, Momo (steamed chicken dumplings with a spicy dipping sauce - yum), Pakauda - potato fritters served with a plum sauce - and another potato dish called Singada which are curry puffs served with plum and tamarind sauce. This was washed down with a Gorkhali - honey, Frangelico, Bailey's, Creme de Cacao and cream - which for $10.90 was one of the more expensive cocktails. And yes, it tasted as good as it sounds.
Can't imagine why it's taken me so long to get to Gurkha's, but I'll definitely be back. Lovely food, cosy atmosphere, good service and cheap cocktails. What's not to like? read more