As a part of our maiden international food exploration, we have arrived at Nepal, a small yet ravishingly beautiful country with a rich cultural heritage, incredibly friendly and fun-loving populace, and fascinating food traditions. The country combines magnificent views of the Himalayas, temples, quaint hill villages, and flourishing wildlife watching to offer one of the world's great travel destinations. Our first culinary destination here is the capital city Kathmandu. We are on a gastronomic tour of this endearing city with our gracious host Kamal Bhatta. Kamal is a filmmaker and a food enthusiast. He shares a deep bond with this quaint city. We are immensely grateful for his inputs and guidance.
Our first food stop was a roadside stall in the marketplace at Kathmandu Durbar Square serving a basic breakfast fare comprising of dry potato sabzi, fried eggs, and dry black chana preparation. This wholesome combination is the preferred food of the working-class masses.
From there we went to have the famous Thakali Thali at Thakali Bhanchha Ghar. It is a set menu from the Thak Khola region of Mustang, Nepal. This quintessential platter consists of 7-8 items like rice, black daal, dhedo(cooked buckwheat dough), lightly spiced meat, aloo Bhojpuri, saag (spinach), chicken gravy, gundruk, and an assortment of pickles.
Next Kamal took us to the Boudha area where there is this huge Boudhanath Stupa. Being a Tibetan establishment, the dominant food here is Tibetan food. So we went to Khawa Karpo Tasty Noodles factory for a plate of hot and delicious in-house noodles. Here we first saw the preparation of the noodles from scratch and then tried a plate of freshly made noodles with a shredded omelet. It was simply one of the best noodles we ever had.
Next was the turn of Zomsa restaurant for this popular breakfast dish called Ponche which is a well-made, soft bao filled with cooked minced meat.
From there we arrived at CD Laphing center which reportedly serves the best Laphing in the city. This Tibetan delicacy is loved for its warm, spicy, and comforting taste. Yellow-colored Ala was more delicious than the plain Laphing. Both were served with soya sauce, chilli oil, etc.
We then headed on to have another Tibetan delicacy Ashabhaley. It was a variation of the Shabaley which is mostly fried. But this pan-roasted dough parcel stuffed with a mildly flavoured minced meat mixture was quite yummy. The fun part was the juices from the meat that had drenched the mince.
Our final destination of the day was a very popular place named the Yangtaru Sekuwa corner. The kitchen was a hub of barbecue where marinated pieces of chicken and pork were being grilled on trays kept inside closed ovens. The indigenous grilling technique results in the most toothsome barbecue meat. It is a must-try if you are here for the food. We thoroughly enjoyed the soft, succulent, and meaty chicken sekuwa and chicken wings.