Gangchen Bar & Restaurant

Screw photos–
I wish I could upload a sound clip!
Eating with my friend,
you’d think he was reenacting THE scene from
When Harry Met Sally.
«I’ll have what (s)he’s having» indeed.
So noisy, he is.
It was roommie night out,
the three of us each ordered an app and an entrée
which is ludicrous.
Three people will never need THAT much food.
They really serve heaping platefuls of amazing food.
Appetizers had were the cranberry poppers (me),
calamari (him), and spring rolls (her).
I still don’t care for spring rolls,
so I can’t attest for that,
but the calamari was good
and my poppers were amaaaaaaazing!!!
Entrees, I had the pad thai, it was great.
I seriously ate 4 meals from the one plate (yessss leftovers!!)
And it only cost $ 9!
Hooray!!!
My male roommie ordered some noodle dish
that was ‘tibetan style’ or something.
It was pretty good,
I totally snuck some food off his plate to try.
My lady roommie is the winner of the night,
she ordered the cranberry curry chicken.
It was so freaking good that I came back a week later
and ordered the very same dish.
There are so many restaurants in the Twin Cities
that I tend to be a snob and not eat at the same place
within a month or two
but I came back right away because I HAD to try the
cranberry curry chicken dish for myself.
I couldn’t will myself against the powers that were drawing me it.
I had to do it.
Had to.
Gangchen is pretty high ranking on my chinese food list now,
it may tie Rainbow Café for me now.
So good!

Eaten here twice, each time we were the only diners. Although at a few minutes to 7, just before happy hour ended, there was rush of happy hour-​ers. There’s usually a funny, gritty, diverse crowd at the bar. But I very much enjoyed the cranberry curry chicken, the shredded chicken, and the Vietnamese coconut curry.
It advertises as a Tibetan restaurant, and when I asked for which were Tibetan dishes, only a few were offered, but I had the momo dumplings and enjoyed them. Kind of like a greasy pot sticker. The food here is really a mix of Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai.
Our server was very friendly, the kind of immigrant restaurateur who will hang out with you to answer any questions you have (although strangely he disappeared towards the end of our meal). It’s a quirky place no doubt, not a hole in the wall at all, but with somewhat of an urban, foreign, cool, gangster feel. Unique.
Money saved — $ 9 using a Happenings 2 for 1 entrée coupon.

Gangchen has a surprisingly warm, trendy and well-​maintained interior with friendly service. It also has a cozy, quaint bar which seems to attract lots of locals and regulars. The place definitely feels like a classy, understated, never-​crowded neighborhood bar where everyone knows everyone.
The restaurant is ostensibly Tibetan, but the bulk of the menu consists of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. Tofu or mock duck can be applied to all dishes. Prices are low and the veg dishes max out at $ 7.99 a piece. Portion sizes are respectable, about as much as you’d get with a lunch special somewhere else.
From what I gathered, the restaurant doesn’t put fish or oyster sauce into dishes, so vegans can rest easy. My hot pepper stir fry with tofu was decent but didn’t wow me. It tasted just a shade above Chinese strip-​mall food and was too heavy on sauce-​thickening corn starch. That said, I’ll definitely go back to try one of their curries or see if they can veganize a Tibetan dish. I will also try some of their cocktails and see if they can’t make a delicious Himalayan drink of some kind.

Gangchen is a delight! It offers good food at great prices until all hours of the night. Saying that, I would like to add that it has its faults. An amazing plate of Chicken Fried Rice will run you $ 7, but half of the time it will come with a hefty waiting period.
The waiters are friendly and polite; sadly the restaurant can’t afford to have more then one on a shift. Oddly the humbleness of this restaurant makes me feel lovely, for it gives me homey, small business Feng shui. Some argue that the nightly DJ can be over bearing. This is true one fourth of the time, otherwise its not a big deal.
All around I would recommend it, but I believe its not worth travailing over a five miles for. If you live within that distance, check it out!
–Rating: B