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History

 

Linking the words Garlic and Leek together, Garleek Kitchen was born and officially opened by Chef Tsering Phuntsok (Karma) in February 2018. 

Because the Chef Tsering's background is Tibetan, he wanted to open the restaurant in Parkdale "Little Tibet," Toronto. However, he wanted to differentiate the restaurant from the others in the neighborhood by serving his favorite dishes from all over Asia - Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, and Vietnam. 

The Chef

Chef Tsering Phuntsok (Karma) has experience in both western and eastern cuisine. Before professionally studying the art of cooking, young Tsering often went to his Grandmother’s place to watch her cook. His passion began by seeing her love of cooking and, when he was old enough, his Grandma taught him her secrets’.

 

Later in his youth, Tsering joined Thrangu Rinpoche’s monastery. There, he mastered traditional Tibetan cuisine. While in the monastery, Tsering traveled to both Nepal and India, quickly mastering Nepalese and Indian flavours. Then in the early 2000’s, Tsering decided to leave the monastery and move to the United States where he continued to learn his culinary skills. Furthermore, while dating his now wife, Tsering cooked regularly with her first generation Italian family to master Italian pasta and sauces.

 

Tsering made his final move to Toronto in 2011 where he continued fine tuning his culinary skills and reinventing the flavours from his past. One of his first jobs when he moved to Toronto was making pho at  Hue's Kitchen, a Vietnamese restaurant. He became friends with the owner of this restaurant. Before adding pho to the menu at Garleek Kitchen, requested and received her approval to use her family recipe. 

He opened Garleek Kitchen to share his passion for food from around the world here in Toronto. You will find a unique, yet familiar, flavour in whatever dish you try at Garleek Kitchen.

Chef showcasing how to make momos dumplings for event
Community building with Tibetan monks

What people say...

1

Deborah K, TripAdvisor

"This is the first time for Tibetan food and the first time at Garleek Kitchen. We were very pleasantly surprised! The food quality and taste is amazing for the price. You'll be able to take a taste for a few items and not break the bank!" 

Elena Vee, Google Review

2

"I work in the neighbourhood and I would say their veggie momos are my favourite! I crave for it everytime..."

3

Ashlie R., Yelp Review

"Husband and wife team have been exceptionally customer focused...always great value, wonderful fresh prepared to order food..."

Featured Artist

Janki Mashruwala

An Architect by profession and an innovative chef by passion, Janki has always adored art from her childhood. She picked up the brush soon after moving to Toronto in 2017, where she rediscovered her profound connection with colors and designs. Giving life to human emotion and reimagining the melancholy of life on canvas has inspired her time and again, which are evident in most of her paintings. Apart from sketching, doodling, painting, and cooking, she has a keen interest in dancing and yoga. Janki has been learning one of the Indian classical dance forms called Kathak. And she plans to discover as many art forms as possible in her lifetime, however, according to her, “Painting has and will always be my first love”.

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