I’ve been wanting to write about Giku-na for a while now. However, that didn’t happen until I tried their beef tacos, vegetable pad thai, and bagel with cream cheese and “chilli jam,” for lunch. I also love their “Summertime Mint” drink, made from freshly plucked backyard mints.
Before Giku-na existed, the space was the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) office. And before that, it was the chef–Kinzang’s childhood home. My mother remembers it being Kinzang’s home, while I remember it being the JICA office.
On a recent visit, I learnt that Kinzang had never gone to culinary school. It was something that he learnt while away in Australia, where Carolyn, owner and manager of the place, and Kinzang’s partner, is from.
And just like the couple and their shared histories, their food also has a unique taste. Their tacos reminded me neither of my time in America, nor the tacos I had had in another place in Thimphu. Having its own origin story, it refused to merge with mine. The cafe is only one part of Giku-na. There is a Yoga studio, where I learnt the importance of breath work, an incense shop, and more recently shops that sell handicraft items. One of these shops is run by Carolyn herself.
