There's absolutely no doubt we love curry in Wales and for those from a hilltop community between Pontypridd and Llantrisant a restaurant with a difference has been impressing food-lovers with authentic Nepalese cuisine.
Found inside a classic pub setting, with the odd Nepal trinkets dotted around the large front room that feels as familiar as the place you spent your teenage years coming for a cheeky half, Gurkha Hill has been at the former The Crown Inn pub in Llantwit Fardre since late 2021 and fuses Nepalese curries, street food and skewered meat alongside familiar Indian and Chinese classics.
Owned by Yogen Gauchan and his partner Laxmi, the Welsh-Gurkha history stretches back years, with a huge community in mid-Wales. Yogen, who has been settled in the UK for more than 20 years, wanted to move to Wales and bring the flavours of his home country with him.
The 43-year-old described how he ended up in Wales after working at restaurants in London and Reading for the first two decades of his time living in the UK. He said: "My brother-in-law is in the British Gurkha army and we came to him in 2015 in Brecon, I really liked Wales. The beautiful countryside, mountains and he gave me some advice and said if I really liked Wales why not move here for a couple of years."
Read more: The Nepalese families of Gurkhas in Wales and the remarkable bond they've formed with Brecon
After a delay in moving due to the pandemic, Yogen and his friends and family finally found The Crown location and sweetly describes setting up Gurkha Hill there as "our destiny".
"It's different to England, the people are most welcoming and friendly. When you go to Tesco people will talk to you, there they don't have time to speak."
After being recommended The Crown by a business contact Yogen and his team set about putting together the Nepalese/Chinese/Indian fusion menu. When you visit you'll see the likes of mo mos (chicken or veggie dumplings), Everest lamb and Gurkha special curry on the menu alongside your dhansaks and the like
So what makes the traditional cuisine of Nepal different to that of its near neighbours?
"Nepalese food isn't very famous in the UK, it's typically like a fusion of Chinese and Indian, you know, the basics are the same. But spicy-wise it's different. And lots of Indian restaurants use colouring, which we don't use and our spice is a bit different, it's more home-cooked style. We have chicken mo mo, when they try it they love it. It's a famous street food in Nepal, alongside lamb sekuwah and sweet chilli chicken.
One dish, the lamb skuwah, takes time to prepare and it pays off. Yogen said: "It's quite a long process to make that, we use Welsh lamb. We marinade it in typical Nepalese spices, pressed garlic, ginger, a touch of honey and mango chutney. And Everest lamb is one of our best-selling curries. We don't do mutton, we sell pure Welsh lamb and people love it. It's very tender.
"The feedback has been great, we have regulars who come here weekly, people come just for the dumplings as well! I was not expecting it in my first year, but people are appreciating what we do here. Our main intention is to give customers something different, so people can recognise Nepal and what sort of food we do."
You can find Gurkha Hill in Llantwit Fardre, call 01443 205822 for more.
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