Pokhara town and Lakeside. We stopped at a tiny place that was very unassuming to look at. Many would continue on and not even open the menu.
This little place was down a tiny alley way off the main street in Lakeside. You went about sixty meters south of the triangular junction on Baidam Road to the Asian Tea House.
The facilities were rudimentary and some might even say unacceptable, but this is what is normal in many cases in Nepal. The simplicity had its own charm, right up until a girl on the table next to us screamed when a rat was shooed away from the kitchen by the cook.
It was lucky not to end up getting the chop as a result. We came back here consistently for the food that was delicious and very well priced.
I noticed on the second visit that the light fixtures were sporting the most unique of shades to diffuse and spread the light. A clear plastic bag did the job nicely.
Dining in the lane way was a communal experience we shared with many over our time. On occasion the family who owned the tea house would join us for dinner. This is the home of the best momos I’ve found; fried chocolate momos!
I could tell you how these are made, but then I’d have to… well… let’s keep it friendly.
The Asian Tea house was the birthplace of the comic memory “Made in China; today yes, tomorrow no” as shared with us by the husband and cook who owned the establishment.
Pokhara bustled and moved along at it’s own frantic pace. As frantic as it could be in a pretty lakeside town known for being a retreat away from the hectic Kathmandu.
It was so frantic that the cows took their time as they ambled along the road, grazing on the few blades of grass that pushed up through the cracks in the cement.
It was in a larger store, almost a supermarket, that we were treated to our first taste of Yak cheese. Fresh to the shop counter this was opened and a generous slice cut out for us. It was nutty and strangely creamy at the same time.
We sat on the edge of a garden bed and tucked into the new discovery, offering to share it with some new friends we made along the way.
