Kathmandu CHILL OUT IN GARDEN OF DREAMS

 When the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu gets you down, pop into the Garden of Dreams just outside of Thamel for a relaxed oasis of tranquility. In this beautiful neo-classical garden you’ll find pavilions, verandahs, fountains and a relaxing amphitheatre where you can chill out on one of the pillows provided. 

It’s also evidently the romantic destination of choice for Nepalis, with lovebirds on every corner!

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Kathmandu

 There is no doubt in our mind we would never have found these food stalls without this tour, and we highly recommend it as one of the best things to do in Nepal.

There’s also the Kaiser restaurant which does a damn fine hamburger if you’re craving a western delicacy!

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Kathmandu The doorways are not high

 It’s fair to say that each stop was a taste sensation; we just didn’t realise that Kathmandu had such a thriving street-food scene.

While the food was delicious (like, really delicious!), stepping off the well worn tourist path and into local bahas and through narrow alleyways, while learning all about the history of Kathmandu from Sandib was an unexpected benefit. A word of warning through - if you’re taller than five feet, mind your head — in Nepal the mountains are high but the doorways not.

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KATHMANDU FOOD TOUR

 
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.

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JOIN A KATHMANDU FOOD TOUR

 
“Where the hell are we going” we asked our guide, Sandib, as we walked through the rabbit warren laneways of Basantipur, Kathmandu’s old town. “To eat some delicious food, trust me” was his reply.

He wasn’t wrong.

After our third visit to Nepal, we were keen to learn more about Nepali cuisine away from the westernised restaurants that dot Thamel and Freak Street, so we joined a Secret Food Tour with Backstreet Academy

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Nepali food

 For larger meals, you really can’t go past Dal Bhat, the Nepali staple meal for lunch and dinner. Dal Bhat is a traditional Nepali meal consisting of rice, a lentil based soup and other condiments, and it’s generally all you can eat so you’ll never go hungry. For those who enjoy soups, our go-to favourite is Thukpa or Thenthuk, a delicious mix of meat, noodles and vegetables in a thick soup, from the mountains of Tibet.

On the restaurant front, check out Yangling just outside of Thamel. It has the best Tibetan/Nepali cuisine in all of Kathmandu (we’ve tried almost everywhere!), at seriously cheap prices.

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EAT ALL THE DELICIOUS NEPALI FOOD

 Don’t be worried by the quality or variety of food in Nepal because it’s incredibly good! Nom.

For the local variety of snacks, start with Momos. The Nepali answer to dumplings, these pockets of joy come in vegetable, buff (buffalo) or chicken and can be fried or steamed. Our personal preference is steamed, served with a red chilli chutney.

You can also find amazing Indian influences, such as pakora and samosas on any street corner! Next, find yourself some Choila, spicy grilled buffalo meat which goes down a treat with an ice cold Everest lager.

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