82 | TRAVEL HIMALAYA SPRING 2019 http://www.travelhimalayamagazine.com
A ROYAL
NEPALI DINNER
R
ubi and I climbed up the stairs leading
WRWKHVHFRQGÁRRURIWKHIRUPHU
Rana palace to reach the Baithak
restaurant at Baber Mahal Revisted.
The doors were open by a young man dressed as a
Rana guard from a century ago as we walked into
WKLVPDJQLÀFHQWKDOOÀWIRUDNLQJ7ZRORQJURZV
of tables pointed toward the stage, illuminated
E\FU\VWDOFKDQGHOLHUVWKDWUHÁHFWHGLQPLUURUV
situated around the walls. This is elegance as we
were to expereince a royal Nepali dinner with
traditional dancing.
Most visitors do attend some restaurant that
features traditional Nepali food with a cultural
show, but nowhere in Kathmandu can such be
enjoyed with such elegance and style. A certain
sense of hushness as in anticipation of the arrival
of someone important as Baithak Restaurant.
The name "Baithak" means "meeting place"
DQGLWVREYLRXVWKDWWKLVURRPZDVGHÀQLWHO\WKH
meeting place for the Ranas. This was a ruling
famliy who held a hereditary prime-ministership
from 1846 to 1951. Throughout the valley, they
built numerous palaces, of which many stillremain and are in use. Baber Mahal is just one of
those palaces, built by Prime Minister Maharaja
Chandra Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana for
his son Sir Baber Shumshere Rana. The son,
HGXFDWHGLQ2[IRUGEHFDPHWKHÀUVWRIWKH5DQDV
to be given a British knighthood by King George
V for his work during WWI. Even though Nepal
was never a British colony, Nepal and the United
Kingdom has enjoyed strong relations for over
200 years.
Baber Mahal Revisted has been restored to its
original elegance. It features four restaurants, a
ÀYHVWDUERXWLTXHKRWHODQGÀQHVKRSSLQJLQWKH
city. Baithak is actually operated by the Baber
Mahal itself and has just recently opened to offer
WKHÀQHVWLQ1HSDOLWUDGLWLRQDOIRRGVDQGFXOWXUDO
programs.
Dinner is served in style with the arrival of
a small plate of Nepali appitizers that include
chicken momo and a potato in a mustard sauce
WKDWFRPSOLPHQWVWKHSRWDWRLQDOORILWVÁDYRU
The waiter comes and pours us a glass of Newari
roxy, a local alcoholic beverage into a cut glass
stemmed glassware to which we can sip, allowing
LWVXQLTXHÁDYRUWRUROODURXQGXSRQRXUWRQJXH
in order to savor its taste.
Rubi Gurung who has accompanied me is a
very good cook of Nepali food and has joined me
with some suspicion of its quality. Few can match
her cooking of traditional dhal bhat, but when
the main course arrives she is enchanted with
WKHGHHSEROGÁDYRURIWKHEODFNGKDOWKDWLVLQ
the center of the plate.
Dhal bhat is the staple of Nepali foods. It's
served daily in every household with each lady
providing their own unique interpretation to this
mixture. Our dinner arrives on a large silver
platter that has indentations for the various
elements that compose the dhal bhat.
The silver tray is not common to Nepali
culture; this was only something the kings and
the Ranas practiced. Specially made with deep
indentations for the various foods, we look down&=(6.%20&)%()678%(8