Posts Tagged ‘local food’

Dashain 2076/2019: food, Khokana, and more food with a view

in booze, daily life, Dashain, Food

Food is unquestionably a big part of the Dashain holiday, and each year there are tasty tidbits to enjoy, some particular to the family or establishment serving them. On Monday, stopping off at my landlady’s to pay the rent, I enjoyed this plateful of Newari goodies, prepared by her teenage daughter this year for the family for the first time. In addition to the ubiquitous goat, circling the beaten rice was also chicken, mulako achaar (daikon radish pickle) undetermined greens, potato, peanuts and sliced fried goat’s lung. Yum!

The next day, Tuesday, was the auspicious day of Dashain Tika (October 8), and I headed to Khokana (famed for its mustard oil) to catch the last day of the Newari town’s unique Shikali Jatra, something I only learned about last year when one of our freelance writers pitched me a story about it. Unfortunately, this isn’t the year I get to experience it for myself, as it was already over the day I went–it’s either a three day and not a five day festival, or it begins earlier than I’d been told; never mind, I’ll make sure to come earlier next year.

It’s a quaint little town, though, with goats adding to temple still lifes (spot at least two);

empty, scrubbed chaang pots drying in the sun (sorry I missed out on the contents);

and old buildings of many kinds.

Heading back towards Kathmandu, I stopped at a local restaurant on a hill, where, after learning I only wanted a drink and not a meal, I was ushered to a seat with a view, where, in addition to homemade raxsi, Dashain snacks kept coming. When I paid my bill and headed out, full and happy, it was hard to see how I could have had a better Dashain; I’d have never come this far out without the festival, and despite being too late for it I was so glad I had.

Everybody Seems to be Eating Brains These Days

in booze, daily life, Food, Patan, Roads & Kingdoms

After my earlier piece on breakfast was published last year on the award-winning Roads and Kingdoms website, I’m super thrilled to have another one in their section 5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE: Drinking the World Every Afternoon. The article, which they’ve creatively titled Everybody Seems to be Eating Brains These Days (a huge improvement over my working title, I can tell you) can be found here.

In addition to being voted the Gold Winner for Best Travel Journalism Site by the Society of American Travel writers, they also had an unusually high number of James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards nominations this year. They’re an awesome website that I’m proud to be associated with, and if you haven’t checked them out, you really should. Their longform work is amazing, in-depth reporting, and the shorts are a lot of fun to read.

 

 

Good-bye winter

in daily life, ECS Nepal, Food, Nepali dishes, restaurants, thukpa, Tibetan cooking, wintertime

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Most days since I became a regular here at ECS, I’ve either brought a sandwich or followed a group of coworkers to their favourite lunch spot, a local joint around the corner. However, not long ago a large rodent ran through there, inches from my feet. Fortunately I did not see it, but it has been enough to put me off returning there since. I’m well aware that many eateries in Nepal often play unwitting hosts to small creatures of all sorts, but what made this different was the fact that this place seemed to tolerant of or possibly even catering to the animal’s presence. And it was running from the direction of the kitchen, so…

This might seem a strange way to begin a post about delicious food, and yet. Feeling a little disloyal, the next time I wanted lunch I let the group go on without me and headed out on my own to a place across the street from our offices, where I’ve seen some of the staff eating before. It’s only marginally more upscale than the place favoured by most of my colleagues, but not by much. With chilly days still very much with us, I ordered one of my favourite winter dishes, a chicken thukpa. Thukpa is a thick soup of noodles and vegetables, served in a spicy broth, with or without your choice of meat or egg. It has its roots in Tibet, though the incarnations generally served nowadays in the valley’s small restaurants have evolved into a unique local variant.

Well, this version was delicious, and I was back again and again. A few days ago I opted for the slightly pricier ‘mixed’ thukpa, which has everything–veggies, eggs, and several kinds of meat. Heaven!

Yesterday–literally from one day to the next–warm, spring weather flooded the valley. Usually the change is more gradual, but this year the cold had lingered much later than usual, so the sudden change was all the more noticeable. Someone here at work said that the warm weather was triggered by the hailstorm we had a few days ago – everyone has a weather theory here!

All that to say, my thukpa eating days are pretty much over, unless we get another cold spell. So today, despite the heat, I ordered a last bowl of mixed thukpa anyway, the one you see here. It was delicious, another reminder, if I needed one, of why I love cold days best.

Whatever you’re eating as you read this, I hope it’s as tasty.

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).