A little bit of sweetness and a whole lot of goodness
With numerous restaurants and cafes cropping up in almost every street of Kathmandu, we are spoilt for choice where different cuisines are concerned. From Mexican and Italian to Chinese and Indian, restaurants around town serve all types of food. There are even many authentic Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants in Kathmandu. But what seem to be missing are places that serve good desserts. There aren’t as many options in this case. Sure, there’s your regular black forest cake, truffles, and even red velvet, but the choices are still limited to the same basic options wherever you go.
Neha Gurung Shrestha and Abisha Tuladhar are determined to change that. As cofounders of Dessert First, a company established to revolutionize the trends in dessert in the Nepali culture, the duo aims to introduce good, scrumptious, and unique desserts into the Nepali food market.
“For me, personally, it’s kind of distressing to see how we have completely neglected the dessert scene. At most places, the only desserts available are Indian sweets and ice cream. The dessert domain is so vast and we have not even scraped its surface properly,” says Shrestha adding that any meal is incomplete without a good dessert, and she doesn’t mean a scoop of ice cream here.
5 desserts you can try making
Though Desserts First doesn’t have a physical outlet yet, you can get a taste of their yummy delights at Prazada Restaurant in Baluwatar, Kathmandu. You can also buy their desserts at the weekly Wednesday evening farmer’s market at Le Sherpa Restaurant in Baluwatar. Also, one of the easiest ways to contact them and get some desserts from them is to visit their Instagram page. Shrestha mentions that this is how most of their customers reach out to them and also how they have managed to get the word out about their company so far.
“But having a stall at Le Sherpa’s farmer’s market has been a big help to assess our products. We get to see our customer’s reaction firsthand and get a lot of important feedback too,” says Shrestha adding that this way they also get to see what sells and what doesn’t in the Nepali market. Shrestha further adds that they also make their family and friends taste the desserts they make. “Many of them, I can tell you, are done with desserts for life. That’s how much they have had to sample.”
Shrestha and Tuladhar make the desserts in the former’s mother-in-law’s kitchen, and there is a lot of experimentation happening there as most of their desserts are created through hit and trail runs. Since the cofounders recently quit their day jobs to work full time on Desserts First, they currently spend their entire days in the kitchen, working on perfecting the recipes before putting up the desserts for sale.
The duo also has plans of opening a store that will also function as a dessert joint in Kathmandu. They believe occasional stalls at farmer’s markets and an Instagram account can only do so much. They need to be a constant presence. And, with desserts, more than any other food items, they believe people need to be able to see it to want to try it. And for that, they need a physical store. “We are working on it. Our long-term plan is to open a dessert outlet in Kathmandu and then take it to different places in Nepal,” concludes Shrestha.
Nepali Rocky Road
Buttery dark chocolate crackers topped with nuts, candied fruits, homemade caramel sauce, and white chocolate.
Tropical Island
White chocolate, toasted coconut and Himalayan pink salted banana chips.
Tiger Marble
Dark chocolate marbled with smooth white chocolate and silky homemade peanut butter.
Fudgy Dallo
Rich chewy chocolate toffe e dollops covered in dark chocolate.
Chocolate Cake Pops
Homemade chocolate cake mixed with a rich chocolate ganache that is then double dipped in dark and white chocolate.
Chocolate Gamala Mousse
Double chocolate rich mousse, topped with chocolate “soil” and a mint plant – Not just sinfully delicious but also super fun to dig into.
