Archive for the ‘Kathmandu Valley’ Category
The best a man can get
As an autonome of sorts, I sometimes miss being pampered. Or, at the risk of sounding like a Britisher who defends the miserly quota of sunshine allocated to him in the Isles with a righteous “it’s no fun if the sun’s always on”, I’d concur that familiarity breeds contempt, while rarity wins admiration. I know [...]
Hungry eye – Black Pepper
For me, Jhamel arrived not when St. Mary’s Lane was overwhelmed by the attack of the restobar clones. It happened when trendy Black Pepper Cafe & Pub opened shop just around the corner from my phuphu’s dowdy residence, joining the lane hitherto dominated by local stalwarts Greenwich and Summit.
It’s clear Black Pepper is serious about [...]
Hungry eye – Momotarou
If you know Jhamel, you’ll know Singma, the no-frills Singaporean-Malaysian eatery that’s now branched out into Bhatbhateni. And if you’ve exhausted that menu, head to its companion venue Momotarou, near Sanepa Chok. Itself a branch of an original in Thamel, Momotarou draws you with fairy lights past the chilly outdoor seating into a solidly residential [...]
Hungry Eye – Jardin, Jhamel
Off Jhamel’s ‘restaurant lane’, Jardin is one of a flotilla of upmarket eateries that have mushroomed this side of the river in the last year. One could easily conclude that Jhamel is saturated with expensive restaurants offering generalised menus of oriental and continental fare, something in vaguely interesting combinations, with an insurance snack menu of [...]
Hungry Eye – Kaiser Cafe, Thamel
It was Friday night, but early as we were, we had Dwarika’s Kaiser Café Restaurant & Bar almost wholly to ourselves. All the better to admire the simple, tastefully done two-storey building comprising outdoor and indoor seating.
We were quickly ushered inside, installed next to a gas heater, furnished with menus, and left to admire the [...]
Kicking Kirtipur
It would appear that Kirtipur, the small town south-west of Kathmandu, has finally hit the big time. First it was the success of the community-run Newa Lahana that drew youth on motorbikes; then a series of festivals staged in the surrounds of the restaurant; and now it’s the five-day Kirtipur Mahotsav, the 2011 edition of [...]
Planet Nepal down at earth
Despite the distractions of Jazzmandu, I made my way to Patan Durbar Square before Tihar to catch the first evening of the Planet Nepal dhamaka, simply because there seemed to be a lot going on in this city of not much going on most of the time. Music, installations, films, roundtables, and all for a [...]
