SOMETIMES, eating out can be an intellectual as well as a culinary experience.

Take last Friday night, for instance. Having never sampled Nepalese food before, let alone been anywhere near Nepal - I think the farthest east I've been is Cromer - I decided to make Winchester's Gurkha Chef restaurant my new and exciting dining destination.

During the course of the meal, though, conversation turning to all things Nepalese, my friend and I discovered an appalling gap in our general knowledge.

Neither of us, it transpired, knew the difference between Nepal and Tibet. We couldn't for the life of us remember - in fact, probably never knew in the first place - if they were separate countries, or if one was a region of the other, or if they were anything to do with each other whatsoever.

Always having imagined them to be more or less the same place - possibly different sides of the same, snow-capped mountain where all those abominable snowmen roam - I was shaken to my geographical foundations to discover my knowledge of the region amounted to little more than what I had gleaned from my copy of Tintin in Tibet.

(Back at the office, it turned out we weren't the only ones with a shaky grasp of world geography. Rather shamingly, not a single person I asked could tell me the difference between Tibet and Nepal.)

Educational blips notwithstanding, our experience of Nepalese food was entirely positive.

For my starter, I went for pyaj bhujuri - or onion bhajis as you'd call them if you were in an Indian restaurant (Nepalese and Indian food is very similar, give or take a few spices). Not too dry, not too greasy, they were very near perfect. Then I had the sabji khichadi - a biriyani dish of seasonal vegetables cooked with basmati rice, onions, fresh coriander, almonds and sultanas, topped with caramelised onions. Delicious - almost as satisfying as eating a family-sized Cadbury's Fruit and Nut bar in one go, but without the chocolate.

Throwing caution to the wind, I rounded off my meal with a gorgeous ice cream - a real calorific shocker dripping with kiwi sauce. But what the heck - it was lovely.

Ever the adventuress, my friend plumped for the chata mari - a folded-over pancake affair with vegetables inside - followed by a combination of two side dishes - bhanta ko tarkari (aubergines cooked with onions and peppers) and aloo ko tarkari (dry fried potatoes). All met with her approval, although she was slightly disappointed by the apparent use of frozen vegetables in her starter.

With its friendly atmosphere and efficient service, Gurkha Chef is the perfect night out for those looking for a variation on the usual Indian meal.

And, as I said, educational. I now know that Nepal and Tibet are neighbouring countries (except that Tibet is now part of China - oh, it's all so complicated...)

Reservations: 01962 842843

ANDREW WHITE