Saturday, June 28, 2014

Eating Out in Kathmandu--Part 2

Hello!  Hope this finds everyone having a lovely day!  We're fine, but my computer is acting up (boo hoo!!!) so I'm using Ramon's computer.  You know how you get used to your own computer and when you can't use it you just feel funny.  Well, I hope I can get it working again, or I'll have to wait until we are home and get a new one!  I feel like an old friend is sick!

We're happy though that the spring rains cool things down a little!  However, the humidity can be brutal!

The spring rains don't stop the field workers!  This man is wearing the covering they use to work in the fields when it starts raining.  It's like a tarp.

He and his family had worked in a light rain for some hours, right behind the hospital.  You can't tell it's raining, but it was--I was using my umbrella when I took this picture as I walked to school.

A few days later, after more rain, here is what that field has been looking like,
in these time lapsed photos...taken each about two days after the other.





Interesting, eh?
However this post is going to be Part 2 about the restaurants we eat at in Kathmandu.  Yes, a fun part of our day off is eating out!  Like every city in the world, there are many options to choose from!  There are probably close to a thousand (I'm guessing) little restaurants like this...

...and this.

We tend to mainly stick to the restaurants in the tourist areas or the hotel restaurants.

One nice hotel with a nice restaurant is the Shangri-la.  Unfortunately Ramon has not been able to eat there, but I was able to go when he was too busy for a day off.  Once I went with another missionary wife and another time I met a school friend there who lives and works in India.  She came to Nepal for work meetings.  How fun it was to meet after MANY years and meet in such an interesting place as Nepal!  Back in our school days if someone had told us we would meet for lunch in Kathmandu, we would never have believed it!  Here is a picture from Tripadvisor of the luncheon patio.  (Since my pictures are not on Ramon's computer, I used this lovely picture.  Thank you Tripadvisor!)  You can see that there is a lovely place to sit and it's like a little oasis in the middle of Kathmandu.  Plus the food is good too!

Maybe soon I'll get Ramon to go there!

Another oasis in Kathmandu is the Yak and Yeti Hotel, which has a very lovely restaurant.  (Back to my pictures which I put on Ramon's computer.)  We love to go there because we can really relax, enjoy the peace and quiet and also the views, plus have a great meal from the buffet, which reminds of our home!  Here is the outside.
(This is actually the casino, and no, we haven't visited there!)

Here is the front entrance.  The windows are around a very nice circular seating area,
 
seen here.  (Sorry it's such a bad picture!  Because so many people were there, I just casually did a quick point and shoot!)

Inside there's a nice lobby,

 with a pretty phone area.

The last time we were there, this was a very lovely gift shop.  The prices were awfully steep, so I never bought anything.  It looks like they chose to go out of business rather than lower their prices so you could actually buy something!

Now here you have the buffet.  There are different items each time, so you always have a nice selection.

Didn't I tell you the view was relaxing?

I think you can see why we enjoy our lunch break when we eat there.  We really recommend it.
After eating, you can walk off your lunch by strolling around.  You can enjoy the architecture,

shops,



and this beautiful room, with a banquet hall up the stairs,

and lots of old and interesting pictures, such as this one of Lord and Lady Mountbatten's trip to Nepal in 1945.  I love it!

Here is the Annapurna Hotel...

and its quite nice Chinese restaurant.

It seems to often have a fairly full house, so I think it must be popular.
I enjoyed eating there when I went with some volunteers on a day Ramon had to work.

Right across the hallway is the bar.
I did go in once, to buy some water to take some medicine, and they wouldn't let me pay!
It's really cute inside and looks out over the pool area.

Just in front of this bar is another restaurant that we haven't tried yet.  It looks really cute too.  This picture is blurry as I snapped it while briskly walking, but you can get a little bit of an idea.

Hmmm, we'll have to try it soon!

Now when we feel like having a really good, and I mean really super good samosa, we go to
Rameshwaram in the area of Kathmandu called New Road.
How do we find it?  We look for the motorcycle parking lot and there it is.
Of course, my pictures of that are on my computer, so you'll have to wait to see them.
Why are their samosas so good?
The crust is exactly like one of the best flaky pie crusts you've ever eaten, that's why!

Of course, the inside is just a BIT spicy for me, so I have to dab mine in ketchup.  (Shhh!)

As you can see, you can't go wrong with the price--Rupees 25 is US 26 cents.

Another hotel with a nice restaurant is the Hyatt Regency.
For lunch you have to eat off the menu, but if you can get there for breakfast or supper,
you can enjoy a very nice buffet too.
It's a lovely place.




The last time we ate there, (see Ramon's elbow?) we almost had the place to ourselves!
However, you can see how nice it is.

Here is part of the buffet area.

Looking at this makes me remember the good breakfasts we have eaten here.
Ramon, shall we go again soon?  :)

Well, now, here is another less well-known restaurant, not in Kathmandu,
but appears to be very popular!  Obviously this picture was taken during a recent monsoon rain,
and if there were any customers they must have been inside.

Yes, it's our hospital's canteen right here at Scheer Memorial Hospital!
If you find yourself in Banepa, Nepal, at a meal time, or yes, even a snack time,
come on over and check it out!  You might be surprised!

Well, that's all for now!  Have a lovely summer day!
May the Lord bless you and your loved ones and may you enjoy a nice meal
in your favorite restaurant very soon!