Meeting Sandib just outside Thamel, we began our tour at a local tea house located in an ancient bahas, or courtyard, where we sampled some of the local chiya (not chai!!, which we were quickly told off to saying).
Sugar high complete, we moved on, stopping at five epic, locals-only food stalls, where we tried a whole range of local delicacies. These included baras (traditional lentil pancakes), yomari (dumpling made out of rice flour and is filled with molasis traditionally), samosas with a Nepali twist, a Tibetan staple of momos, sweet and sour pani purri, and a thick, creamy lassi.
(to be continued)