Quick Fun Facts about Nepalese Food:
• Heavily influenced by Tibetan, Indian and Chinese food
• Momo (Tibetan style dumplings) are one of the most popular foods- traditionally made with buffalo and a spicy tomato soup/sauce
• Food is eaten with your hands, specifically the right- the left is used for certain bathroom purposes
• Common ingredients: lentils, potatoes, tomatoes, cumin, coriander, chilly, peppers, garlic, and mustard oil
• Yoghurt (dahi) is usually paired with traditional meals
• Dal Bhat is, most would say, their national dish- it consists of rice (in the center) with side dishes of lentils, pickles, curries, a protein, yogurt, chutney, and tori (or unleavened bread). There are innumerable variations of this dish- we tried a few and they were all delicious!
• Nepalese chai is the national drink- you find it everywhere. The tea is steeped in milk and sometimes sweetened. It’s amazing.
• They like to use a lot of spice!
Nepalese masala chai
Chicken Momo
After wetting our palates with the scorching heat of Laotian food and the complex curries of Myanmar, we were ready to dive head first into Nepalese food. We did some research before arriving to make sure we didn’t miss any of the top spots, and actually got a taste of all the traditional food Kathmandu has to offer.
Strangely, all of the top rated spots in Thamel all have English names that basically end in “coffee shop”- which made us a bit skeptical at first. We wanted to avoid Western fusion places as much as possible, but since Mike’s stomach was still a bit sensitive after his issues in Bagan, we also wanted to stick to places with good ratings that might be kinder to our annoyingly sensitive western stomachs. As you will soon learn, this was not a foolproof plan.
On our first day in Kathmandu I quickly became obsessed with momos, and Mike with curry. Both dishes became our go to, and I specifically set out to find the best momos in Kathmandu! Our first taste of these delicious dumplings set the bar pretty high. We were walking down one of the main streets of Thamel when a woman beckoned us into her tiny shop in the basement of one of the buildings. When we saw her steaming the momos our mouths started to water and we couldn’t resist, plus they were made with buffalo meat, which is Mike’s all time favorite (because it’s so lean of course– #health). So we sat in her shop and she served us steaming hot buffalo momos in a tomato sauce. WOW- the minute we bit into these momos they burst with flavor. I still dream about the tomato sauce- it had this very thin, almost watery consistency, and a really complex flavor with a hint of spice that had us both looking at each other with huge grins. We both ended up drinking the sauce as if it were soup out of our bowls. It obviously could not get any better than this.
Mike waiting for his momo
Buffalo momo in spicy tomato sauce
On our first full day we went to two restaurants that I’m just going to group together because they were that similar- Blueberry Kitchen & Coffee Shop and Rosemary Kitchen & Coffee Shop. At first glance I was pretty amused to see that both restaurants basically had the same menu. At Blueberry I had the traditional Dal Bhat with a lentil soup and chicken curry, and Mike had a bowl of chicken curry. At Rosemary I had their chicken momo and Mike had again a curry (of course). Although we were really excited about both places because they had rave reviews, we found the food to be pretty bland. Mike’s curries weren’t bad (it’s hard to mess up a curry) but just nothing great. The highlight at Blueberry was the cheesecake, which was actually really delicious…but not Nepalese, and the highlight from Rosemary was their chicken momo, which was really spicy and tasty. Everywhere we went I drank masala chai, because it’s the most delicious tea there ever was.
Dal Bhat
Chicken Momos
The last few places we went to worth noting were Gaia Restaurant…and Coffee Shop, Electric Pagoda, and Kathmandu Steak House. Of the “coffee houses” Gaia was our favorite- it had the best curry and a more original menu. Electric Pagoda was where we went to get Mike some extra protein, and they served some delicious Mexican food. Lastly was Kathmandu Steak House, which is fairly legendary. They serve an incredible filet mignon for only $8. If you’re sitting there thinking, “Wow $8 is too good to be true for a filet mignon”… it pains me to say this but, you’re right and here’s why…
After dinner we went to our hotel and within a few hours were both immediately struck with some of the worst stomach pains of our lives. Fast forward through the worst 26ish hours a tourist could imagine- two people desperately sick with one bathroom. After surviving this nightmare I think we’re entitled to call it the 7th layer of hell. We resurfaced from our hotel room disheveled, exhausted, and bummed that we missed out on our last full day in Kathmandu- but hey we’re still dating so that’s a huge win.
Our best food experience in Kathmandu was a cooking class Mike arranged for us at the home of a Nepalese family. This incredible family welcomed us into their home, and we spent hours talking to the two daughters and learning everything we could about traditional Newhar food (an ethnic group in Kathmandu) and what it’s like to grow up in Kathamdu. After showing us how to make some appetizers we all sat around a table, ate dinner together and shared stories. One of our favorite dishes was the Choli- marinated and grilled buffalo meat- that was paired with beaten rice, which is rice that is dried out and literally beaten until its flat and crispy. It was unlike anything we’d ever tasted before, and undeniably delicious.
Lentils, marinated beef, sautéed spinach, flat rice, marinated potatoes and legumes
Table of deliciousness
It was such an amazing cultural experience to get to know these girls who were so much like us. In fact, one of the daughters had just quit her banking career to go to culinary school (similar to me)! We left feeling so inspired by the realization that regardless of race, heritage, location, religion, and age, we are all human and fundamentally the same.
With our gracious hosts
Here is our favorite appetizer recipe from the night:
Woh- Fried lentil patties
Ingredients:
1 cup- Black lentils mashed into a paste
½ tsp- salt
½ tsp- ginger-garlic paste
½ tsp- cumin powder
½ tsp- onion seeds
1 pinch- Asafetida (hing)—yes this is a real spice google it
½ liter vegetable oil
1. Wash black lentils properly and blend in a blender until it forms a smooth paste
2. Add dry ingredients and mix well
3. Heat oil in pan
4. Once oil is hot enough (test out by adding a bit of the lentil batter and seeing it brown)
5. Make a small patties with the lentil paste and fry them until browned
6. Serve hot
Restaurant Rankings:
1. Rochani’s Cooking Class (there is no actual name of it – can be booked through travelingspoon.com, and it is the only option there for Kathmandu) – highly highly recommend, great conversation and incredible food
2. Momo lady at the south end of Paknajol Marg (right before that street hits a 6-way round about– a little blue shop front)
3. Kathmandu Steak House- although it caused us a lot of pain, it was some pretty damn good steak
4. Gaia Restaurant & Coffee Shop- Mike’s favorite curry
5. Rosemary Kitchen- Second best momos
6. Electric Pagoda- pretty decent Mexican given that you’re in Nepal
7. Blueberry- delicious cheesecake, but that’s about it
Mike and his protein
Me and my momo