![Himalayan Hub owner Mitra Gurung (centre) shares a laugh with Suraj Thapa and Anil Buduja Pun. Picture by Hamish Geale Himalayan Hub owner Mitra Gurung (centre) shares a laugh with Suraj Thapa and Anil Buduja Pun. Picture by Hamish Geale](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H9AemfQ3cDaTrBwqEFxwv/6dfd6ca5-cf31-4333-b982-bed96f0db796.jpg/r0_0_5184_3456_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Cooking wasn't Mitra Gurung's first profession.
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The owner of Launceston's first Indian and Nepalese restaurant started out as a junior tour guide in the Himalayas.
But an accident set him on a new course.
"I had one bad incident when someone fell and took us together 50m down and I [needed] surgery to my finger," he said.
"My doctor said no more Himalayas, no more ice, you can't trust the ice."
The touring company he worked for offered him a job in their kitchen, and the rest is history.
"I started in the kitchen from that day and changed profession - I really enjoy the cooking profession."
Since moving to Tasmania with his partner nine years ago, Mr Gurung has worked hard to master the art of Indian cuisine.
He worked at Blue Cafe and Indian Empire, and joined Pickled Evenings in 2015, where he later spent 18 months as head chef and director.
Repeat customers at Pickled Evenings often asked for 'Mitra's food', which inspired Himalayan Hub, a new Charles Street project offering Indian and Nepalese cuisine.
The former home of Eleven and Bengal Tiger was packed with customers in its opening week.
"The last week was crazy," Mr Gurung said.
"Lots of people came and they really liked the food, some of them even came and took a photo to send to relatives and friends.
"It was a really nice experience last week."
Mr Gurung said he was eager to provide customers with "real Nepalese street food".
Himalayan Hub is located at 2/126 Charles Street, and is open from 5.30pm to 9pm, Monday to Saturday.
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