Cafe Kathmandu at Tengkat Tong Shin: Review

Cafe Kathmandu tries to offer the authentic flavours of Nepal in every possible way – the restaurant employs nearly a dozen Nepalese workers, both in & out of the kitchen & is adorned with artwork that gracefully evokes Nepal’s culture & landscape. When Kamala, a server who’s been in KL for a year, gazes at one image of a picturesque hamlet perched in the shadow of a mountainside, she says it reminds her of her own home village, which she quietly adds is “gone” after this year’s earthquake.

A Broad Selection

The selection is broad, encompassing the classics of the genre & more: The traditional ‘thali’ rice platter features all the essential protein & fibre, with chicken, vegetables, pickles, curries & chutney for a satisfactory diversity of flavours (RM16). There are noodles galore too – the quintessential midnight snack of Wai Wai fried instant noodles (RM7-RM10), spicy ‘chow mein’ noodles (RM10-RM15) & soupy Tibetan ‘thukpa’ hand-pulled varieties (RM10-RM15) – which can be partnered with everybody’s favourite ‘momo’ steamed dumplings, stuffed with ground chicken, vegetables or even seafood (RM10-RM20).

Meat Matters

Meat matters: You’ll find sekuwa (RM15; roasted meat) & sekuti (RM10; dry meat jerky) here – choose from chicken, mutton or even buffalo, the last of which can seem chewy & gamy for some customers, but it makes for a robust match with a glass of Merlot. Come famished & you might also be able to feast on karchi-marchi (stir-fried goat’s intestines & innards; on the menu but not in stock when we visited), aloo jeera (potatoes with cumin) & bhatmas sadeko (fried soybeans with tomatoes & onions).