Ginger Garlic distinguishes Nepalese food as more than Indian-Chinese fusion

This story was originally published on Sept. 23, 2019. It has since been updated.

Walk through the doors of Ginger Garlic Nepalese Cuisine and you'll be greeted by a smiling host with kind eyes known to many Regina diners for once being the face of one of the city's most popular Indian restaurants.

This spring, Binod Gurung decided to apply his delightfully hospitable nature to offering Reginans cuisine from his home country of Nepal — the only eatery in the province to do so.

Ginger Garlic is located at 230 Winnipeg St., an industrial strip that doesn't get much foot traffic. Still, Gurung chose it because of its ease of access via Ring Road. He believes people will be willing to make the trip. 

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He was right in my case. My curiosity brought me there, as I'd never eaten Nepalese food before.

Gurung said the food at Ginger Garlic can be found anywhere you go in Nepal. He calls it "Nepalese street food."

"We wanted to serve the people of Regina our authentic food. Every Nepalese can make this kind of food."

Don't call it 'fusion'

What makes Nepalese food stand out for me is the flavour and texture combinations. 

Nepal is a small country pinned between two giants, India and China, but I am reluctant to call this "fusion cuisine." It's that way because being at the crossroads of these two countries and cultures, their traditional food has taken cues from both sides for generations.

Take the momos for example, which are steamed dumplings (Chinese) with chicken curry inside them (Indian). Or the chili chicken: at a glance, it looks like Chinese food, but its flavour profile is quite different.

Across the globe, together

Gurung takes hospitality seriously. After studying hotel and restaurant management in his hometown of Pokhara, Nepal, he worked in local restaurants for a few years before moving to Dubai, where he spent 10 years. While in Dubai, he worked with two chefs, Resham Gurung (no relation) and Raj Dhungana, both of whom also hail from Pokhara.

Dhungana worked at a restaurant in a five-star hotel in Dubai. Resham worked at a restaurant in a seven-star hotel, inside the world-famous Burj Al Arab.

"He can cook Nepalese food, Indian food, Chinese food … Western food, too," said Binod of Resham. "He can cook all of the food."

In 2011, Resham moved to Calgary and was joined shortly thereafter by Binod and Dhungana. They continued to work in restaurants together. Then the brother of one of their co-workers opened an Indian restaurant called Caraway Grill in Regina, and in 2014, he invited them to work there. They figured it was worth a shot. They worked at Caraway Grill together for five years. Binod started as a waiter and was later promoted to assistant manager. 

Eventually, they felt ready to open their own restaurant. Ginger Garlic opened in May 2019.

'Good food, good mood'

Why the name Ginger Garlic? Binod wanted a name that was easy to remember and something even children could pronounce. 

He also came up with the nifty slogan, "Good food, good mood."

Binod considers word of mouth marketing is "real marketing."

"It means trust. Better than advertising. The person who is trustworthy, whatever he said, they will trust him. To trust one another is word of mouth. I can say that in business."

Indeed, I'd heard about Ginger Garlic through word of mouth.

There is a lot to try at Ginger Garlic. I suggest you go with a big group to taste test as much as possible.