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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A Cooking Class At Seven Women, Kathmandu

 
During the class, we also heard from Anita, our leader, all about the hardships faced by women in Nepal, and how things are slowly but surely improving across the country, especially with the help of social enterprises such as Seven Women.

Not only is a traditional cooking class at Seven Women one of the best things to do in Nepal, it’s also a great way of supporting an enterprise that is helping empower Nepali women.

Cooking Class At Seven Women

 During our cooking class, we learned how to make traditional Nepali dishes, including a proper Nepalese curry (Dal Bhat!) from scratch using fresh local ingredients from Kathmandu Valley. Surprisingly, it tasted absolutely delicious.

We then made a traditional rice pudding for dessert, which we’re both comfortable in admitting, was the best thing we’ve ever cooked.

Enjoy A Cooking Class With A Difference At Seven Women, Kathmandu

 We always say that to truly experience a destination, you have to understand its food culture too - so most places we go, we try to take a traditional cooking class.

In Kathmandu, we joined a cooking class at Seven Women, a social enterprise working to empower marginalised Nepalese women through skills training and literacy classes. For Nepali women, the kitchen is the heart of the home and we learned that it gives them a great sense of pride to share their food, culture and traditions with travellers from around the world.

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