Montys and its Nepalese Cuisine

One of the most frequently asked question in Montys of Kathmandu by patrons who are taking their first journey into Nepalese food is ‘what is the difference between Indian and Nepalese?’ Well, I will try to summarise here, if you disagree with my point of view, feel free to blog me.

Nepalese food is as diverse as its land, people, it is difficult to pin point to one item. Our cuisine is influenced by our two great neighbouring countries in China and India and more recently the influence of Western food cannot go unnoticed.

Nepalese food can however, be characterized by its simplicity, lightness and healthfulness. These three element we strive very hard in Montys of Kathmandu to live by and prepare our Menu accordingly.

I have never been a fan of food, when comes to the table, even before you have had to taste, you are put off by its appearance – bathed in oil and just plain unappetizing.  We at Montys, staying true to our culture, where possible, use only the freshest local ingridients, minimal fat and blend all the spices and herbs in-house. We make all the sauces, pickles, yoghurt, paneer in house. We don’t use any third party sauces.

Even though every region has its own speciality of dishes, the most common meal is Dal, Bhat and Tarkari, boiled rice, lentils and vegetables. Meat is only eaten during special occasion as it is so expensive. This is our Bacon and Cabbage.!

Another of most popular dish is Momos, originating from Tibet and brought into Nepal by the Tibetans themselves who have settled in Nepal and also traders from Kathmandu returning from business in Tibet. Tibetan momos tend to be bland in flavour but our Nepalese momos are full of flavour and its one of the most requested dish in our menu. No Nepalese restaurant can be without momos in their menu.

At Montys, we have other mouth watering dishes which just simply need to be sampled, come in an dtry them all.

By the way, my answer to those customers who are looking for the difference between Nepalese and Indian “sample the food and you will find out yourselves” Their response is always the same, ‘its tastier, fresher, subtle in flavour, and clean”

To book a table in Montys please ring 01 6704911.

Some Facts about Nepal

Did you know?

  • Nepal is a small country, 91st biggest in the world but by populous its 41st with a poulation of over 29 million (census of 2010).
  • Budha’s birth name was Sidartha Gautam and was born in Lumbini Nepal and not India. Lumbini is also a World Heritage Site.
  • Talking about World Heritage sites, Nepal is awash with them. In-fact, Nepal has the densest concentration of world heritage sites. Kathmandu valley alone has 7 world heritage cultural sites within a radius of 15km.
  • Nepal has been declared aSecular country, even though over 80% of he population are Hindus, Budhist are about 10% and the balance is made up of other religion.
  • Nepal’s flag is the only one in the world which is not a rectangular or duadrilateral. It is made up of two crimson red triangles with a blue border. The crimson red colour of the flag signifies the colour of its national flower, rhododendron. The colour also stands for victory in war and the braveness of the Nepalese people. The blue border of the flag symbolizes peace. The two triangles which stand for the mountains of Nepal. The shape of the sun and the moon on the flag represents the aggressiveness of the warriors and calm and peace loving nature of the people.
  • Nepal is wholly land locked country which has borders with India and China.
  • The mountainous north of Nepal has eight of the top ten tallest mountains in the world. The peaks are – Mount Everest, Kanchenjunga (3rd highest), Mount Lhotse, Mount Makalu, Mount Cho Oyu (fourth, fifth and sixth resp. shared by Nepal and Tibet), Mount Dhaulagiri I, Mount Manaslu and Mount Annapurna (seventh, eighth and tenth tallest respectively). There are over 240 peaks above the height of 20,000 feet in Nepal’s mountain ranges.
  • Nepal is also home to some of the most rare flora and faunas in the world.
  • Until 1950, Nepal was a closed country, meaning only people who could enter were ones on official business and was closed to casual travelers.
  • In Nepal, it is illegal to kill a cow, as she is not only a National Animal but is also worshiped as a goddess. Beef is not eaten in Nepal.

 

More facts will follow in future blogs.

Recent activity

Goodbye to old and hello to new as we say goodbye to our famous logo which adorned our window since we opened in 1997.
After 16 years, we have changed our logo which is Budha’s eyes with new modern design of the same.

We have a new A la carte menu along with new early bird, lunch menus. Both the lunch and early bird menu have been improved, offering a greater choice. You can now have lunch from €8.95. Rice is now included for all main dishes with the A la carte menu. We are working on offering a Nepalese Show case menu which we hope to bring to you soon.

The new wine list is almost complete. It will be far the biggest wine list ever in Montys history, offering a greater choice in terms of quality and price.

Cookery classes are restarting and the first class is on 29th April 2013., If you want to book for a class please phone 01 6704911 to reserve a place. The classes are small so hurry to avoid disappointment.

We also have more dinner wine evenings, so keep an eye on website for next event.