local foods in Nepal include thukpa - tibetan noodle soup

buff thukpa – Tibetan noodle soup with buffalo meat

Travel Tips: Five Delicious Local Foods in Nepal to Try

Wherever I travel in the world I’m in the habit of eating local foods almost exclusively (and I eat them at local restaurants & shops, not tourist restaurants, guest houses or hotels). Nearly every country has delicious local cuisine and, for me, eating them at local shops is a big part of ‘going native’ and really digging into the countries I visit.

Nepal is no exception. Local shops & restaurants offer a variety of traditional Newari, Indian and Tibetan dishes. They’re all scrumptious and generally not too spicy. Here are my five favorites, which I encourage everyone to try when they visit Nepal.

If you’re not brave enough to eat at local restaurants for some reason or other, you can find most of these dishes at hotels or tourist restaurants, which are plentiful everywhere tourists visit around Nepal.

momos – Tibetan steamed dumplings

Momos

Momos are Tibetan steamed dumplings. If you’re ever had Polish pierogies, momos are pretty much the same thing.

The most common momos are ‘buff momos’ made from water buffalo meat. Chicken, vegetable and pork momos are also commonly served. The fillings are slightly spicy, but not mouth burning.

Momos are usually served in sets of 10 along with a red chili / tomato based dipping sauce which is also slightly spicy. The very best momo restaurants make their own homemade dipping sauce. But most places offer the standard bottled sauce.

Momos and momo restaurants are very common all over central Nepal.

Price:

60-70 rps per plate / $0.60-0.70 US in local momo restaurants

180 – 300 rp in hotels and tourist restaurants

thukpa in Kathmandu

Thukpa

Thukpa is Tibetan noodle soup with a thick-ish broth. Of all the local foods I’ve eaten in Nepal, thukpa varies the most from town to town and shop to shop. In fact, it’s surprisingly different in Kathamndu, Pokhara and Nepal’s small mountain towns.

The thickness and flavor of the soup stock varies greatly as do the added vegetables. In Pokhara, the vegetable amounts to just uncooked shaved cabbage tossed on top. But in Kathmandu shops add a mix of cooked veggies like carrots, onions and greens.

Besides the standard vegetables added to thukpa, you can order buff, chicken or egg thukpa.

Price:

60-80 rps / $0.60-0.80 US in local restaurants

100-150 in tourist restaurants & hotels

chapati & samosa & daal for breakfast

Chapatis & daal

Chapati, samosas and other Indian bread items are often eaten for breakfast at local shops all over Nepal. Daal is made from chick peas or lentils, so it’s quite filling. Many Nepali shops add potatoes to their daal. You can also often order potato chapatis besides plain ones.

Chapatis & daal are often eaten with milk tea or black tea.

If you’re eating at local shops, you might want to be careful of ordering drinks, especially milk tea. Sanitation and power cuts (and therefore not keeping milk consistently cold) are issues at small shops that don’t have back up power.

Price:

10-20 rp per chapati or samosa, 20 rp for daal, 10-20 rp for tea at local shops

palak paneer & naan

Palak paneer & naan

These are also Indian dishes. Paneer is a type of very soft Indian / Nepali cheese. It’s more like tofu than anything else.

Paneer is used in several Indian ‘curry’ dishes. My favorite is palak paneer, palak being spinach. Most places that serve palak paneer also offer other paneer ‘curries’ like mater paneer (chick peas or green peas) and others I’ve never tried.

Naan is Indian bread baked in a tandoori oven. Palak paneer with naan makes a super delicious meal any time of the day.

Price:

60-80 rp for palak paneer / 20 rp for plain naan at local shops

220-300 rp for palak paneer / 50-120 rp for plain naan at hotels & tourist restaurants

Newari thali – set meal

Newari Thali set

The Newari people are the original inhabitants of central Nepal. The amazing brick & carved wood buildings of Kathmandu and Kathmandu Valley are Newari. Today the Newars make up only 6% of Nepal’s total population, but most live in the Kathmandu Valley.

Newari food is quite different from any other. A Newari Thali set (mixed meal set) is a very interesting, tasty and unusual dining experience. It consists of a heap of loose dry flaky grain instead of rice, peanuts, soybeans and an assortment of vegetables, fish and meats. The vegetables and meats are fairly spicy and most are deep fried.

Newari food is not nearly as easy to find as Tibetan and Indian food. It’s not generally offered in hotels or tourist restaurants, though a few places do serve it. It’s also not so easy to locate the small local Newari restaurants scattered around Kathmandu.

The shop I know is on Paknajol Road, one street west of the main Thamel road. Not many westerners eat there, so the owners and any customers will be rather surprised if you visit. But they’ll certainly welcome you and serve you a tasty meal. (be careful of the meats)

If you really want to try Newari food but can’t locate a shop, ask your hotel or guest house staff where you can find it.

Price:150 rp with an assortment of fish, veggies and meats / $1.50 US

Fresh Nepali yogurt

Nepal has delicious yogurt. The yogurt from Baktapur town, 15 km east of Kathmandu, is particularly renowned for it’s yogurt, called jujudau. It’s even more delicious than Nepal’s standard yogurt.

Jujudau has a slightly sweet lemony flavor and super creamy texture. Anywhere in Nepal you can order fresh yogurt. If you visit Baktapur be sure to eat some jujudau! In Kathmandu you might be able to find it as well.

Price:

30-60 rp at local shops

100-150 at tourist restaurants and hotels.

QUESTIONS:

Have you eaten any of these dishes? If so, how did you like them?

Do you have any other local foods to recommend in Nepal?

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10 Important Tips for Visiting Kahtmandu

Travel Tale: Waking Up in a Medieval Town

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