Visual Bites: Café Kathmandu
4 Comments
Karen Hamilton
February 12, 2009
Degan of Ethnic Eats recently organized a night of food worship at the temple of Café Kathmandu.
In attendance were like-minded Vancouver food lovers: David of Loud Murmurs, Roland of VanEats, Eagranie of The Well-Tempered Chocolatier, and Raul of Hummingbird604 (even though his broken tooth prevented him from partaking in the nibbles – mon pauvre).
I sat back with camera at the ready while the rest of the group ravaged the menu for the choiciest items.
Selection of 3 tipan tipan (small plates), served with hot sauce and chiuraa – a crunchy beaten rice, lightly toasted.
Left: Choilaa, $7. Pork simmered with a distinctively Kathmandu-style spice mix with lemon, garlic, onion, and fresh coriander.
Middle: Aaloo achaar, $6. Chilled sesame-lemon potato salad flavored with timmur (Himalayan peppercorns) and fenugree.
Right: Bhatmaas, $6. Toasted soybeans, quick-fried with fresh ginger, garlic and chili and garnished with fresh coriander. By far the favourite of the table. The crunch could wake the dead; the beans felt hollowed out. Never encountered a texture quite like this.
This month features the momo for $9. We ordered a plate each of vegetable and pork steamed dumplings, served with hot sauce, tomato sauce, and cilantro chutney. I made the mistake of dolloping a teaspoon of hot sauce on half a momo. Luckily, this searing off of my tastebuds occurred at the end of the meal, after we all had our fill of Nepali cuisine.
Gently fried soft tofu curry sautéed and cooked with green beans in tomato sauce. $10 for a cereal-bowl serving, spiced at medium.
Khasiko massu for $12 – goat meat in curry sauce whose heat was also set to medium.
Medium spcied daal jhaneko for $10. It’s a lentil puree accented with caramelized onions, ginger and roasted red chili seeds.
I was feeling cold from the winter weather, so I opted for Nepali tea served with milk and steeped with fennel seed. Reminds me very much of chai, but despite the unlimited refills that I was privy to, my lactose intolerance didn’t trigger. Hooray!
The rest of the group ordered thick and frothy mahee. Looked like a mango lassi to me.
We exchanged food pleasantries and delved into topics gastronomic and tech well beyond the last bite. Eagranie even provided dessert in the highly appropriate form of mini chocolates.
If you’d like to see what Himalayan food can offer your palate, make sure to come down to Café Kathmandu the next time you are on The Drive.
Café Kathmandu
2779 Commercial Drive | Vancouver
(604) 879-9909
cafekathmandu.com
Categories: Commercial Drive, Food, Restaurants, Visual Bites
Comments
4 Responses to “Visual Bites: Café Kathmandu”
Got something to say?
About Tiny Bites
Tiny Bites is a food blog that explores all things edible and imbibable in Vancouver, British Columbia. More >
Articles by Karen Hamilton
Read the food and non-food articles that I've contributed to sites other than Tiny Bites.
Would have loved to be with you… Maybe the next time
I LOVE this place. The owner is always so welcoming and he provides wonderful service. Not to mention the food (goat curry is killer) and prices. I’m so glad you decided to review it!
Did someone say service???
I wish I could have joined you Karen, and met you too Degan.
Sounded like a good time!
[...] February 18, 2009 · No Comments I had the pleasure of having dinner with some fellow food bloggers last week. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll spare you having to read 16,000 words and point you to Karen’s post instead. [...]