I recently went on an 11-day trek in the Annapurna Sanctuary Region of Nepal with a few days in the cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara. I tried to select the most authentic foods I could, given the menu provided on the trekking part of the trip. Since this was basically a pre-paid tour, the selection was mostly for tourists, but if asked, the cook was willing to prepare traditional food for an interested traveler. I did, however get some local, non-touristy food when I was exploring the cities of Pokhara and Kathmandu before and after the trekking was over.
I was rather impressed and at the same time disappointed with how available modern conveniences were in the mountains. The "tea houses" were more like quickly constructed Motel 6 hotels and we had a bed and a shower every night. I did find it interesting that in Nepal, people ate basically the same thing for lunch and dinner every day (dal bhat). It consisted of rice, curried vegetables, dal, greens, and some type of pickled vegetable (typically turnip). It was slightly different everywhere I went, depending on who the cook was and whether or not meat was available (usually chicken). But I ended up enjoying it immensely.
Here were some of the things I enjoyed.
I had two layovers in China on my way to Nepal. The airport food in Shanghai and Kun Ming were not bad.
Shanghai International Airport
This airport seemed like it was permanently under construction. The air was stagnant and muggy and the "smoking rooms" were not air tight. The food options seemed decent though. I also liked the free hot, warm or cold water stations.
Hopestar Cafe
Won Ton Noodle Soup. With pork and shrimp. Quickly made but satisfying nonetheless. The broth had MSG but I, surprisingly, did not get a headache as I normally do.
Roasted Chicken Feet. Salty with a little sweet heat. Not for the faint of heart. Served with boiled peanuts under the feet.
Pork and Cabbage Dumplings. Hot and filling.
Kun Ming International Airport
There were actually a good number of places for food at this airport. The only problem is the airport shuts down from 12:30-5:30am. So if you have an overnight layover, as I did, you'll have to prepare with your own brought snacks, or try to sleep.
Beef Noodle Soup. This was a tasty bowl of braised beef and pickled bamboo shoots. The broth also had MSG, but still no headache.
Pork Noodle Soup. Another tasty bowl of noodles. This one had bits of ground pork, pickled mustard greens and chili sauce.
Bhojan Griha
Dillibazar, Kathmandu
This was the restaurant where we had our first official Nepali meal. They livened up the atmosphere with floor seating and traditional folk dancing in between entrees.
Wine. The typical Nepali wine, which apparently, many people make for themselves using millet and rice. It was strikingly similar to sake. This one was fairly mellow with a strong grain taste, but had a clean finish.
Curried Potatoes. Cooked with cumin seeds and spices, this was a tasty way to start the meal.
Momos. These are the Nepali version of dumplings. They had chicken, cabbage and spices and served with a tomato-based chutney.
Dal Bhat. Typically, this is what dal bhat looks like. A large plate/platter of rice, greens and this one included green beans, fried fish (actually really good despite no ocean near Nepal), and chicken.
Dal. A soupy mix of cooked lentils and spices. This is usually poured over the rice and mixed with everything else.
Yogurt. A sweetened yogurt was served for dessert. I love yogurt in other countries. They're usually made with full-fat milk and has tons of flavor. This one was no exception.
Masala Tea. Similar to chai tea, this black tea had spices mixed in as well. Sweet and hot. A very nice end to a delicious meal.
Angan Pashupati Foods
Thirbum Marg, Kathmandu
This chain of food stores has locations in Nepal, India, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand. This particular store only carried Nepali sweets and I felt compelled to purchase some. The sweets I had when I traveled to India were fantastic and I was hopeful these would be good as well.
On the top were sweets made with some kind of nut paste; similar to marzipan. The silver is edible decoration. The bottom sweets were made with chopped pistachios, cashews, dates and rolled into a seed of some sort. They were both lightly sweet and very tasty.
During the trek
Tadapani Village
This was one of the villages where we spent the night while on the Annapurna trail. Matching dishware and things of that nature are not a concern in developing countries. There were a number of mugs with various pictographs or sayings that were hilarious just because of the context. Below was one of them.
Mint tea. We had tea at least five times a day during the trek. This was probably a good thing since it gave us an excuse to rest and also re-hydrate from all the hiking. The mint tea was hot, tasty and slightly different at every tea house. The price for a mug of tea was approximately equivalent to seven cents.
Dried Buffalo. This was in a private home of one the tea house owners. We got an invitation to come in because our trekking guide was friends with the owner. It was a two-room house but they had everything they needed. This included strips of buffalo meat drying over the furnace.
The proprietor let us sample some of the dried buffalo. He quickly sauteed a few pieces with a magical mix of spices. It was spicy, flavorful and had a chewiness akin to thick beef jerky. This might have been one of the best things I ate during the whole trip.
Gorhka Beer. I'm still amazed that so much bottled beer was available in the mountains. These have to be carried up to each tea house using either donkeys or Porters. Gorkha is a city in Nepal. The Gorkha people are known for their braveness and in history, have been warriors.
Khukri Rum. A mildly smokey rum that actually tasted really good with some hot lemon tea. This was also widely available.
Chhomrong Village.
Nepali Breakfast. After I started asking for Nepali breakfasts, I started enjoying breakfast a lot more. This was grilled flat bread with a hard-boiled egg, fried bread and curried potatoes. So delicious.
Jhinu Village.
Curry Chicken. Spicy chicken curry served with rice. The curry was ridiculously flavorful and satisfying. There was a festival going on at this time so the Chef really stepped it up at this tea house.
Nepali Breakfast. Fried bread with curried potato and tomatoes. Perfectly balanced with sweet and savory. The fried bread was crisp on the outside and fluffy and moist on the inside. So good.
Encounter Nepal Restaurant
400m Thamel North, City Center, Kathmandu
This was our last meal with the touring company. They really splurged on this one. There was not a set menu and we were encouraged to order "anything" we liked.
Nepali Soup. This was a very savory, brothy soup that tasted like some parmesan cheese rind was cooked in it. It also had small bits of vegetables and a hint of tomato. Outstanding.
Grilled Chicken. Tender pieces of meaty chicken were brought to the table sizzling on this hot plate. Not sure what the mix of spices were but it was very delicious.
Beekti Fish. This amazingly buttery piece of African Beekti was sauteed in garlic and other spices and served with roasted potatoes in a tomato-based sauce. Nepal is not a seafood country since it's landlocked, but this imported fish was very well prepared and fantastically tasty.
Atithi Resort and Spa
Shanti Patan, Lakeside, Pokhara
http://www.atithiresort.com/
This might have been the fanciest hotel I visited during this trip. With marble floors, a spa and top-notch service, they really left me feeling very pampered.
Dal Bhat. This was the fanciest and the best (in my opinion) dal bhat during my whole trip. With yogurt, perfectly sauteed greens, curried potatoes, flavorful chicken, curried vegetables, dal and a crispy flat bread, my taste buds were very happy.
Hot Lemon Honey. I had this particular drink many times but this was the nicest looking one I had. It was perfectly balanced with the tart lemon juice and sweet honey.
Thakali Kitchen
Barahi Chowk, Lakeside-6, Pokhara
Situated right in the heart of downtown, Thakali Kitchen welcomed locals and tourists alike. With a small but traditional menu, they had everything I wanted, including a shower in the restaurant, which I thought was amusing, and balcony seating.
Jomsom Potatoes. Thick slices of a waxy potato were fried in butter and served with a "special" chilly powder flavored with wild green pepper.
Thakali Sukuti. Dried mountain goat. This tasted like it was marinated in a wonderful mix of spices before being dried. It was served simply with cucumbers, onion, tomato and ginger. Delicious.
Street Food
Walking around Kathmandu was like inundating all your senses all at the same time. There were so many things to look at, hear, smell, taste, touch while at the same time trying not to get lost on nameless streets or twisting your ankle on the uneven pavement. I found a few vendors frying delightful things on the walkway or displaying colorful goodies in tiny open stores. I wanted to explore each and every one of them, but time was not on my side. Below were a few things I enjoyed.
Donuts. When I asked a local what the round items were on the left, I was told they were called "donuts". These were not like any American donut I've eaten though. They had a cornmeal texture that was very pleasing and it had a bit of sweet mixed with savory. It was crunchy on the outside and spongy on the inside. They were so good, I wish I bought more. The item on the right was also fried dough that was then soaked in a saffron syrup. Also tasty.
Sweets. I found a store selling sweets while walking around Kathmandu. I asked for a box and just selected what looked good. I have no idea what any of these were called or what they were made of, but each one had a distinctive taste and texture with different spices, nuts and fruits and were very enjoyable.
If I listened to the guide books, I would have eaten the same thing every day and have thought Nepali food was rather boring. But the fact is, Nepal, rich in history and spices, has a wide variety of foods if one is open-minded enough to try the unfamiliar.
Also, if one were to ask the question: "Why go trekking in Nepal?" Here is one answer. The view.
