favorite eateries
Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. ~Mark Twain
a few months ago my sister decided to become vegetarian, just like that. i’ve always thought that was healthier – for the body as well as for the planet, so much more socially responsible to not eat meat. but, i went to new dish momos, order dui pela and promptly forgot. so that was that. since then i’ve admitted i love food and food loves me and the best i can do is to eat less meat (since not at all obviously won’t work). good deal, since there are so many great eateries in town, here’re my favorites (in no particular, since visits depend on what i’m in the mood for):
1. SINGAPOREAN/MALAYSIAN: Singma - Jhamsikhel, across New Orleans Cafe:
if you knew me when i was in college you would have to know that penang was my regular fix. i knew the menu so well i just recited numbers when friends called for suggestions. i thought i’d be miserable w/o roti canai and keow teh woh (i think it was called) but then i re-discovered the newly renovated singma and all my concerns addressed. portions are a bit small, but it’s so delicious you can’t complain.
2. ARIZONA-STYLE MEXICAN FOOD: Lazy Gringo – Jawalakhel, on the second floor a little before bakery cafe.
another thing i thought i’d miss when i left amriks was chipotlet and 1am runs to taco bell. but then i met mr. lazy gringo. and though i miss the massively portioned carne burritos, the beef-and-beans here do just fine. the taco is delicious (and SO much better than new orlean’s, i have to tell you). the free re-fills of the delicious lemonade is refreshing when it’s at hot as it’s been, but don’t get too excited, it’d just kool-aid. the waiters are friendly and don’t go there saturday aftnoons – it is packed then!
3. MUGHAL: Alishaan – Jawalakhel, there’ll be a turban-clad man on the outside who is hard to miss!
growing up in mussoorie means you live for saturdays when you were allowed to go to the “buzz” and eat butter-chicken-and-butter-naan-and-palaak-paneer at our beloved ‘golden’s’. lots of hearty mughal food available all over town, but this must be one of the firsts in lalitpur. what they lack in service (the waitstaff are so nervous, no idea why) they make up in quality of the food. you might get your chicken tikka about half hour before your butter naan, but bear with them, once all your orders come (and even if some are really hot and some are really cold) you’ll find it is simply delicious. also, try their rolls!
4. ORGANIC & FRESH: Organic Cafe – Thamel, on the second floor and across from roadhouse cafe:
don’t get confused with the ‘organic cafe’ nearby the us embassy, this one is in thamel. you have to try the potatoe-cheese momos. you have to eat the seabuck thorn juice. you must eat the chilly chiken. you must have the phapad-ko salad. and you can send me a thank you note when you are done because it is so good.
5. MOMOS: New Dish Momos – New Road, this is a hidden treasure and i feel bad for betraying it’s secrecy.
i’ve never eaten anything but two pelas of momos. and so i have no idea how the other things on their menu is. but it looks like about 99% of everyone else cramped into this hole-in-the-wall is too, so there must be a reason. please note they only serve PORK momos (and other items like (veg) thukpa, (veg) spring rolls, but NOT veg momos).
6. NEWARI: Newa Kitchen – Thamel, on the right hand side of the Kathmandu Guest House
i love love love love choela. and the newa kitchen perfectly hits the spot everytime i am in the mood for choela (and that is fairly often). i get the samay baji. it comes with a little bit of this, that and that and that – chiura, alu, tama, sabji, mulako achar…. the choela has to be ordered separately and i understand the word ‘succulent’ when i chomp on these!
7. KOREAN: Everest Villa – Thamel, keep walking past ‘house of music’
the best place to go for bad service but good korean food. my mom’s favorite place. it’s nice to go here with just another person or with a whole group. the bibimbap is yummy. but usually we get the chicken and/or pork to be grilled right on the table itself. and, of course, enjoy the endless side-dishes.
8. PASTA: La Dolce & PIZZA: Fire and Ice – Thamel, former across Kathmandu Guest House and latter across Java
sometimes even a rice-and-daal loving Nepali wants a good bowl of pasta and perfectly crusted pizza. ’nuff said!
9. STEAK: Sunrise Villa (was it?) – Naya Baneshwar, down the gully from the Standard Chartered Bank to Patan
this is a japanese guest house, but this is also my favorite place to eat steak. also, i forget the name of the place. i’ll look it up.
10. CHINESE: That Chinese Restaurant Under Tamaash – Thamel, like I said, under Tamaash:
i know good chinese food when i get it. five years of cheap chinatown food hasn’t made me forget the delicacies i feasted upon while living in hong kong for five years. though i didn’t appreciate the chinese quite as much as a child, i have to admit i was thrilled to find such good chinese food. spring roll, fried rice and wonton soup as it is meant to be. and, my favorite: black mushroom and pak choy in oyster sauce and the fish? YUM.
11. Carts Outside City Center – City Center Sidewalk
probably the only fast food in town worth venturing to (mainly without having to worry about getting a “runny stomach”!). my favorites are the pani puri (no, duh), mushroom-paneer-cheese grilled sandwich and kala khatta. a very good idea right before rushing to catch the 6p move at kumari or jnc!
call me if you are hungry, because chances are i will be too. and, let me know if you thing i missed something that you think is just that amazing!
Richa
September 7, 2010 at 12:20 pm
there’s a place at pako i think for the sausagess!!!! a lil further than seesha i think, there is a passage kinda galli to go in n as u g there’s a kinda chok with a big well(iinaar)! at the side there are shops…sad i dont know the name!! i eat at the shop on the corner, there’s only one big round table outside, by the well..
n there’s panipuri/chat stall infront of banasthali skool,,well the place is kinda polluted but pani puri is amazing!!
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nepaliketi Reply:
September 7th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
my mom’s decided she likes the pani puri in front of uwtc more than the ones in front of city center (more than the one at agaan by bishal bazaar) … will have to tell her to check our your suggestion. but, where is pako? ….
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Richa Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 10:07 am
yeah, UWTC waala panipuri is nice n healthy! pako is a part of newroad..beside the peepalbot where they sell all sorts of books/magzine, there is a small road where there are those bag shops n clock/watches repair shops!..m soo bad with directions!! everybody knows Pako, Newroad!
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nepaliketi Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 10:37 am
hmmm pako …. if it’s the bags/watches then i think i know which gulley you are talking about… tara books/magazines ta i’ve never seen sold anywhere in new road. anyway, mummy dear will probably know!
Runil
September 11, 2010 at 5:45 pm
>:( Nepaliketi, I am soo kinda not happy wid you… You shuda said New Dish has ONLY pork momos.. I asked my friend to gimme a treat there, assuming that it was something like Maharajganj’s momo magic. Only Pork momos, and that too…. I had never ever ever eaten pork before, but because a pig had already been killed, I ate 3/6 momos for the love of the pig… I kept remembering the swines I saw playing in shit in my childhood in Duhabi, and my parents would tell me That was the reason I should never eat pig… The chicken cutlet was… ohh-kayy…. U liked that momo, ho? U realllly should try the momo place below naya baneshwwar dpt store in Baneswar… They’re known 4 their rolls…
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nepaliketi Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
yikes! so sorry! i’ll make a note of it so as to prevent future catastrophes of a similar nature!
but, to be honest, i’m more relieved you aren’t mulsim because that would have been more horrifying.
if your disinclination for pork and pigs come from the notion that they are dirty then here’s good news for you –> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article1024980.ece
as for you having the heart to eat the pork momo because well, at this point, you’d be right THEY DIED FOR YOU then i have to also refer you to a post about shrimp and having it die for allie over at hyperboleandahalf. SHE IS HILARIOUS. also, read her post on ALOT =D
as for the place you suggested, will be sure to, thank you!
NB is a good non-fancy schmancy eatery area, isn’t it? had khatta rolls that rivaled the ones at bawarchi at this hole-in-the-wall place a stone’s throw from the standard chartered bank there!
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Runil Reply:
September 11th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Aww, its okaay…yeaa, actually its d same place… rolls are soo much bigger and better than bawarchi’s, and momos are The best
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nepaliketi Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
@Runil, mmmm good rolls. sad thing is that it’s just SO out of the way. i have no work, nothing to do there … except to make a trip for rolls … !
D
February 8, 2011 at 3:16 am
I just found this article
You know? I’m in the mission to read all the posts on some of the blogs 
Some of these happen to be my favorite too.Can you tell me which color is your hair? Well maybe I should try to spot a girl with curls, no? Maybe with American accent?
If you’re a momo fan, you should try ‘Swadilo Momo’ near Kumari hall. Make sure you don’t go there 1-4 pm because then you’ll have to wait for upto 1 hour in the queue. And oh yeah, there’s this momo festival in Bhrikuti Mandap 11th of this month, just in case if you don’t know that earlier.
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nepaliketi Reply:
February 10th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
@D, mmmm DUDE i’m NEPALIketi, of course my hair is black. don’t tell me you thought i was one of those girls who dyed it blonde???!!!
ani, yes i have mega curls … but i don’t really blast my curls out unless the occasion calls for it … and mo mo mania ma ta i’ll be STUFFING my face so can’t have my crazy hair in the way. but tell you what if i see you i’ll go “DEEEEEEEEEEEE” and you can go “NEPALIKETTTTTTTTI” and we can run toward each other in slow motion?
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D Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 2:50 am
@nepaliketi, Yeah, that sounds great. I’ve been practicing Vijaya Dinanath Chauhan run(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWEx5gACui8) since last few years. Maybe its time for the showdown. I’ll make sure there are friends with video cameras who will be shooting me and then I will upload it in Youtube. If the video becomes popular, I might just be Justin Bieber of movies i.e. I’ll be picked by some low budget indie producer and eventually become a superstar
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bipin
March 4, 2011 at 5:06 pm
‘Attic’….is the place to be…after 6 pm preferably..with live music and all..try ‘hunan chicken’ and ‘mukka aloo’…we used to describe ‘mukka aloo’ as ‘aloo with a punch’…haha..
highly recommended place..be there..
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nepaliketi Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
@bipin, mmmm agreed, attic is a lovely place. but i’m going through an intense anti-social phase …. so i prefer late afternoon before ktm’s celebrites and who’s who start trotting in! also, LOVED the world cup there – best place to watch hola =D
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pranaya
March 28, 2011 at 3:37 pm
some places you’ve missed:
1. dan ran. its the japanese place thats just up the road from sigma if you keep going towards st marys. there’s an alleyway that branches off to the right, just before you get to roadhouse and its at the intersection. it has some great japanese food if you’re into that.
2. i don’t know if you’re a newar, but if you’re a newar from lalitpur, you probably know this place. i’m not a newar but i went to school in patan so i’m very familiar with this honacha that sits behind the krishna mandir at patan durbar square. its really tiny and there’s a very small, very dark alleyway that leads to the place. but its been there for close to a hundred years, it might just be kathmandu’s oldest surviving honacha. they have baras that are to die for, piro aloo that will make you sweat and sukuti that is the best you’ve ever had.
3. ever been to red dingo? its that australian place behind the standard chartered in jawalakhel. its got some really thick milkshakes and smoothies and for the price they charge, their portions are pretty big, aussie-size maybe. great food, authentic and tasty.
4. everyone has their own favorite momo place. there’s didi ko momo at lazimpat, opposite that indian sweets place (i forget what its called), everest momo, momo magic, that bhatti momo place in boudha…so many momos, so little time.
5. if you like fish, there’s two things you need to eat. the first is malekhu ko macha, which i’m sure you must’ve had by now. and then there’s rainbow trout! its a little more expensive and you need to visit the hills of nuwakot, maybe a few hours drive from kathmandu, to get a bite, but its the best fried fish you can get in nepal.
when i’m back in nepal, i’m going to be ravenously hungry, will you make a date with me?
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nepaliketi Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@pranaya, oooooh thatnks for sharing your thoughts and fave places … i should update this, i wrote it at least a year ago, but allow me to respond anyway:
1. yes, i’ve been to dan ran a few times. i like the decor – the inside is really cool and i think what they’ve done to the br is awesome. the garden is nice too. unfortunately i think their food is close to the worst japanese i’ve ever had. the rice has never been right in my sushi, though the presentation is always pretty. i’m still looking for good japanese. not koto. i want to visit this place i’ve heard raves from japanese friends in maitighar area tira … will try it out and let you know!
2. i’m part newar and i know exactly which place you are talking about! i think anyone part anything goes there and falls in love. i am very biased towards the choela at newa (right next to thamel guest house and on the ground floor – under the worst korean place in the city). also, another fantastic choela place is a bhatti near patan dhoka. serously, the meat is done.just.right. but you should know, it’s right around the bend from your alma mater… the meat is succulent and perfect! also, the chiura and alu ko acahar!
3. red dingo was my first stop when i worked in nepalgunj and landed in ktm! for the love of sirloin sandwiches, amiright??? =D
4. never had momos in lazimpat now that i think of it. will try soon!
5. malekhu ko macha is not worth contesting, unless you’ve tried rapti khola ko machha on the drive from nepalgunj to dhangadi. tyo dammmmmi chha. i’ve never been to nuwakot – i hear great reviews and now i’ve one more reason.
and yes, ekdum, make a date with you. i’ll bring along a posse (also your fans). but first, i want to make phraaaaadnsheeeeep with you. yes?
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nepaliketi Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
@nepaliketi, also not sure how long it’s been since you went off to the land of freedom fries but lots of new restaurants are popping up all over the city – esp patan side (which is where i like to be more than kathmandu) aaaadn black papper, according to my mother, has the best fish she’s had in ktm all year – i think we oughta splurge and toast our blog buddiness there!
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pranaya Reply:
March 29th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
@nepaliketi, i can only imagine how many more must’ve sprung up after i left and i left 3 years ago. i’ll be back in ktm in the summer. so we have a few months to cultivate our friendship. and its nice being anonymous and all that, but it bothers me that i dont know who you are. tell me?
keshab bhandary
March 31, 2011 at 1:00 pm
hello
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suvexa
July 8, 2011 at 8:20 am
PS: you will love it here, provided you have a sweet tooth.
PSS: you have nice blog in here.
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nepaliketi Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
@suvexa, unfortunately i do not like sugar in my tea, much less chocolate and ice cream. but, jardin is very nice. i love their outdoor seating. i went there the month it opened. it was really pretty, but my boyfriend and i had a fight there so i haven’t thought to go again. most def will! thanks for the suggestion
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