The Nepalese Family Experience at the Himalayan Kitchen

Nepalese Bhim and Australian Holly met in Italy, enjoyed an international romance and married in 1999. With family in both Nepal and Australia, they decided to make their forever home in Australia. Not afraid of hard work, they arrived in Adelaide in May 2003, opened the Himalayan Kitchen in Melbourne Street in July and have been sharing authentic Nepalese and Tibetan food with the Adelaide public ever since.

Bhim grew up in Hetauda, a small village near Chitwan in Nepal. With a background as a tour guide he considers himself born for hospitality, with a real desire to make people happy by sharing his culture and his cuisine.

“My mum and my family taught me how to cook. My mum was the fantastic chef of the house and I had lots of family who were all very handy in the kitchen.”

“I helped with food preparation from a very young age and it was part of teaching kids to be independent. Our family had a farm and grew all the ingredients, so I was often sent out to pick capsicums and other vegetables.”

Known for their traditional and authentic menu featuring Momo housemade steamed dumplings, goat curry and coconut chicken (all pictured below), Bhim’s creations reflect the unique family flavours of his upbringing.

One of Bhim and Holly’s favourite things about the restaurant is recreating this family team environment and the opportunity for their two children to learn and grow through their work at the restaurant.

“I’m a big believer in culture and learning from the past to improve the now. This has been great experience for the kids.”

In addition, their time on Melbourne Street has resulted in wonderful and enduring relationships over the years.

“We’ve met lots of great people and even have regular customers we’ve been on holidays with!”

“David Roche used to come in regularly and we often get footy and cricket players but usually we don’t know who they are until our other customers tell us. We treat everyone like family when they come into the restaurant.”

A fixture on Melbourne Street, Bhim and Holly feel at home with the community including their loyal customers and fellow business owners. When asked to describe the Himalayan Kitchen in a few words they say “love, passion, culture, heritage and family.” We’ll add “delicious” to the list.

The Himalayan Kitchen is open for dinner from Monday to Saturday.

73 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide SA 5006

To book telephone (08) 8267 3037