Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

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in ECS Nepal, Food, published, writing

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In early January I was offered the position of editor at ECS Nepal, the magazine I have contributed to for years as a freelance writer. It was a big surprise, but a good one. So far it’s been a crazy, hectic whirlwind of learning, hard work, and fun.

February’s magazine (above) is a special food issue, the first with my name on the masthead. It’s pretty funny it turned out that way, since food is the topic I’ve written about most for them over the years. The great group of people I work with did so much to make it happen on time in challenging circumstances and with a new editor taking over halfway through the process–I’m thrilled and honoured to be on the team.

The Mo:Mo Series — Number 5

in Food, mo: mo, mo:mo series, Nepali dishes, restaurants, wintertime

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These super-awesome incredibly delicious pork mo:mo are from New Dish, a little place tucked upstairs in Kichapokhari, New Road. It’s been open for 26 years but I’ve only just been there for the first time (and the second, and third–already). They have a small menu–amongst which pork mo:mo are the only mo:mo variety–but they are great. Thin-skinned and succulent, served with a simple hot chilli dipping sauce, and a bowl of broth. There used to be a place by my house that served broth with their mo:mos (basically it’s the steaming water, doctored up a little) but they closed and I’ve missed it. This place is already on my favourites list, and with chilly winter weather on the way, I know I will become a regular here.

The Mo:Mo Series — Number 4

in Food, Kathmandu, mo: mo, mo:mo series, Nepali dishes

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So are these top-notch mo:mos? Not exactly. They’re decent though, and the the mix of the two sauces provided (regular tomato and extra chilli) is pretty tasty.

What does make them awesome and fun is that they come from this cute stand out in the parking lot of the Maharajgunj branch of the Bhat Bhateni Supermarket. In case it’s too small to read in the picture, the line on the bottom of the food stall reads, verbatim:

So Long As You have Mo:Mo In Your Mouth, You Have Solved All Questions For The Time Being.

I really can’t argue with that. In fact, it could practically be my motto.

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The Mo:Mo Series — Number 3 (my favourite)

in daily life, mo: mo, mo:mo series, What to do in Kathmandu

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These are, by far and away, my favourite mo:mo. I’ve eaten more of these over the years than I could possibly count.  The New Everest Mo:Mo Centre in Lainchour, next to the campus behind Thamel, serves only one thing–buff mo:mo, cooked in giant steamers. The sauce is a secret combination of ground sesame seeds, chilli powder, and fresh danya (coriander). There’s more in it, too, but I don’t know what. It’s delicious, especially when combined with the flavourful fat that spurts out of the mo:mo when you cut into them. I like to spoon the sauce inside the mo:mo itself for a perfect bite.

Oh wow, just reading over what I’ve written has made me hungry…

The Mo:Mo Series: Number 2

in Food, mo: mo, mo:mo series

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Buff mo:mo at Momo Mania, Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu. This is a simple place with a simple menu —  the buff mo:mo are juicy and delicious, with a perfect, delicate thin skin on the mo:mo. The sauce isn’t really outstanding in any way, but the mo:mo themselves make up for it.

The Mo:Mo Series – Number 1

in Food, mo: mo, Nepali dishes

After the mo:mo picture I posted here recently, I got to thinking about the amazing variety of mo:mo available here in Nepal — there are so many different shapes, sauces, and styles. I love recording them, so I think I’m going to post some mo:mo pictures I’ve been taking (and eating, of course) with a little information about the place I had them and how they were. Here goes.

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These are the chicken mo:mo at the Dokhaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka, Patan. I’ve had these often and they’re outstanding — juicy and best of all, that green sauce? It’s a chilli-mint concoction that’s fresh and delicious, and I always need a refill. Note that the middle orangey sauce is pretty good too (the top one is pretty much lethal chilli).

Fresh from the garden

in daily life, gardening, Vegetables

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I know, I know, they don’t look like much. But they’re nearly the last of the green beans grown fresh in a blue container just outside my door. There have been bigger harvests, which I was much too busy enjoying to remember to photograph. There’s not many there, but they will add a little crunch to tonight’s chicken salad. Yum.

Today’s Lunch Dahl-Bhat

in daily life, Food, restaurants

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Today I enjoyed lunch with a friend at the Dokhaima Cafe, Patan Dhoka, Patan. Traditional Nepali daily fare–but extra delicious. From the top, around the rice: a crispy poppadum, dry chicken curry, alu achar (potato pickle), thin fried slices of bitter gourd, and in the bowl on the top right, yellow lentils.