For those of you who have met me over at my blog site, you’ll see my favorite places in the valley to enjoy a range of dishes – momos at New Dish to Pad Thai at Ying Yang and cupcakes at Hessed – but as of late I have become thoroughly bored with the mushrooming restaurants.[break]
For fear of being denied entrance, I shall keep the names anonymous, but really it’s not necessary because for anything that’s opened in the last year I’ll be happy to find one original menu and equally original décor, at least this side of the Bagmati. I don’t frequent the Kathmandu metropolis often enough, but I am fairly acquainted with my beloved Patan area.
In the past year or so, there’s been a wild bloom of restaurants all over town. Not just up that strip in “Jhamel” as Trio took over Buzz Café, Picasso opened up, Chai Chai beckoned us to its couches and Cinnamon gave us one tasteful décor, but the more I frequent restaurants around town (especially to try out new places) the more disappointed I become.
But the more I frequent newer (unnamed) restaurants around town, I cannot hide my disappointment as one place after another opens up to serve the exact same menu. The décor eventually stops being pleasing as well. It’s always the not-so-original fusion of Nepali-woodwork-meets-European-bars and the exact same food being offered – momos, pizza, (awful) burgers, milkshake and whatnot.
A few places actually come out with a bang.
For those of you who know me, it’s not just because I love Johnny who revamped Red Dingo or Saryat who created a little France for us with his Casa de Cass (honestly, guys, they don’t know me as Nepaliketi) but because they have made their restaurants a delight to meander into.
The bathtub in the Red Dingo restroom now houses plants and the look of the restaurant is fresh and clean. Casa De Cass is charming and every bit romantic, at night, I might add. (Heed my warning, stay away during lunch hours when the UN takes over the site!) But more than that, it’s their menus. You go to Red Dingo for Australian food and Casa de Cass for French (or what I think is Australian and French, anyway). In any case, isn’t eating out more about eating than the décor?
Singma, I’d like to note, isn’t classy or romantic; it’s more practical and convenient. So, even though their portions are humiliatingly small (I just go ahead and order two dishes so I can exit less hungry than when I entered), which means you are paying double for what you would elsewhere, their menu is amazing! I believe it’s Singapore-meets-Malaysia and see-you-in-Nepal kind of a food thing.
All three do not have momos or pizza on their menu and for that, I love them.
So, please please, dear dear emerging Restauranters, take a cue from Jonny and Saryat and whoever owns Singma and do NOT make the mistake of repeating the charming-but-nothing-new décor and adding the same things to your lokta-paper menu.
While I’m all for promoting Nepali products and Nepali culture and Nepali architecture and Nepali Nepalis and all that, I’m getting so bored with the same thing being repeated one after another.
If you want to start your own restaurant, do us customers a favor and find your niche – be creative with your décor (Chai Chai is charming, but I think I already said that) and make sure you offer something no one else in the area does (like Lhakhpa’s pasta.)
If I’ve offended you (without meaning to) since all I’m trying to do is help you launch a restaurant that will be as buzzing as Fire and Ice (note pretty much everyone there orders pizza!). I’m also trying to keep Kathmandu’s one means of entertaining oneself (restaurant and café hopping) an option. If you listen to me, it’s a win-win for both of us really.
Also, in case you forgot, every business’ only slogan – the customer is always right ; )
For more of Nepaliketi, visit nepaliketi.net
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