It being a relatively relaxed day, I shall take the opportunity to talk about food. My food, at any rate. When I first moved in here, breakfast was always taken in the Bread Box, the splendid café downstairs from my room, and similarly part of the teaching of hotel management. They make excellent coffee, and I would always have a cappuccino, toast, and an omelette – my addition to the menu was the introduction of mushroom omelettes. More recently, now that myroom is better equipped and stocked for such, my usual breakfast is porridge. It is cheaper (not that price is an issue; the Bread Box is expensive by local standards, ridiculously cheap by Western), and healthier.
For lunch, I might grab samosas from the school canteen – perfectly fine – though usually I don’t bother with anything. But dinner is more varied. Pizzas here would be unrecognisable as such in Italy (and most other places), but are fine. I eat half, store the other half in my fridge, where it makes a tasty snack. And I have had veggie burgers from The Burger House – no beef in Hindu Nepal. And when I am tired, don’t want to go far, I grab something from the Bread Box: chow mein, chips.
But lest you think I am avoiding Nepali food entirely, this is far from the case. Especially when with others, I eat the staple meal here: rice and/or chapattis, vegetables in sauce, dhal baht, chutney, yogurt or similar. And I enjoy doing what the locals do, eating with my (well-washed) hands. Or rather hand. I am becoming quite adept.
A favourite meal is masala dosa, a huge crispy pancake filled with veg, (actually a South Indian dish), which I get from the nearby Indian restaurant. Other favourite local destinations are a small café, serving superb samosas, and the dairy, where I buy lassis (a delicious yogurt drink.)
And then of course there is the momo, a small steamed dumpling filled with vegetables or chicken, and virtually the national dish. I especially enjoyed some the other night, when I ordered a takeaway, and ate them at home, along with a cold beer. It was virtually identical to the beer and dumplings we enjoyed so much in China. Wonderful!
I went to Aparna’s today – I can manage the journey quite well now, without Aparna’s assistance – and had a relaxing time… even including a nap. Lunch was rice and beans, which I enjoyed, but meant I could not do full justice to the dosa Aparna’s sister-in-law prepared for us later.
