Boudha is beautiful. I think there’s something so serene and calm about this place despite the traffic and footfall it sees. It is where art thrives and people can be seen doing their own thing and enjoying themselves. There are also many eateries where you can grab a quick bite. And you can actually choose one depending on what you are in the mood for. If you want Tibetan or Chinese cuisine, then I recommend you try Mechung Restaurant & Bar. Open from half-past ten in the morning to half-past eight in the evening, this is where you can have a quiet lunch or dinner.

The first thing you will notice as soon as you enter the restaurant is the spiral staircase. It’s really fascinating and artistic, and it manages to grab your attention. The ambience is fine with cool paintings and furniture that make the place really cozy and inviting. It’s the vibe of the place that puts you at ease much before you even look at the menu and are fascinated by their selection of dishes.

For the food, I sampled five dishes that, I must say, were amazingly plated. This family-run restaurant that opened 40 years ago also seems to have the recipes just right. The owner, Tenzing Ragba, said that they have been in operations for so long that they have perfected the recipes by now, even though they have undergone several tweaks over the years. 

The dishes I tried were Fai Koru, Ting Mo, La Chee Chi, Chicken Momo and Buff Shahphalay and they were amazing, some more so than the others.  

Fai Koru is a Chinese dish. It’s actually double-cooked pork and, at Mechung Restaurant & Bar, it’s garnished with green onions. I loved the overall presentation of this dish. It was cooked to perfection and tasted really good. The meat was juicy and soft with the perfect blend of spices making it really flavorful. The flavor of the pork reminded me of these chips I used to eat when I was a child. I can’t exactly remember which one but the flavor took be back to my childhood, and that’s always a good thing. This dish was priced at Rs 385 and I would actually give it four and half stars out of five. 

The second dish I tried was Ting Mo. It’s Tibetan steamed bread and doesn’t contain any fillings. It was soft and spongy. I ate the Ting Mo with the Fai Koru and the combination was actually so tasty that I ate the rest of the Ting Mo with the leftover Fai Koru sauce and the remnants of the Chinese green onion. The dishes actually complemented each other really well. The Ting Mo is priced at Rs 45 per piece and I would give it a three-star rating without the Fai Koru sauce, and maybe add an extra star when it’s dipped in the Fai Koru sauce. 

La Chee Chi, the third dish I tried, is deep-fried chicken with red chilies. I was excited to try this dish because I was intrigued by the name. The fried chicken was crispy and I liked the spices that coated it. It wasn’t as juicy as the Fai Koru but it was garnished with carrot and cucumber slices that added a nice crunch to the dish. I would have given it a four-star rating if it had been a little juicer but for now, I’m going to go for three and half. Though it was a little on the spicier side, I enjoyed the La Chee Chi and thought it was reasonably priced at Rs 395. 

I also tried momos at Mechung Restaurant & Bar. I had chicken momos and it came with a chicken broth soup. I will have to admit that the soup was okay. It came with spring onions and that’s the only part I actually liked. The momos, however, were really good. I guess you really can’t go wrong with momos. Priced at Rs 185, I thought the momos here were a deal. The pickle on the side added a nice tang to it. Four out of five stars, definitely.

The last dish I sampled was the Buff Shahphalay that was priced at Rs 240. It was crispy and went really well with the pickle it was served with. I really liked the stuffing and I thought it was quite flavorful. To think of it, it actually balanced out the taste of the cold coffee I was having alongside to wash down my meal. However, I would give it three out of five stars because it was nothing unusual or unique. 

The thing with Mechung Restaurant & Bar is that it’s a simple restaurant that serves wholesome food. You might not like what I did or love dishes I didn’t but I guarantee you will find something to suit your taste and I also guarantee you will want to go back. I definitely do.

 
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