Weaving Through Thamel - A Near Death Experience and Nepali Hospitality

After a few hours of rest, our guide Deepak met us in the courtyard of our hotel, and we set off on what can only be described as a full sensory overload.

Thamel, where we were staying, really should be pedestrian-only, but it’s not. There are no sidewalks, which means walking involves sharing narrow streets with cars, motorbikes, people, and dogs, all moving at once and all apparently assuming you’ll figure it out.

Between the food and the constant need to avoid being run over, it was equal parts food tour and survival exercise. Oh and did I mention the pot holes or even roads and that Deepak was a speed walker!

Our first stop was Mixed Thukpa, a warm Himalayan noodle soup with chicken, egg, vegetables, and gentle Nepali spices. After 20+ hours of travel, it tasted like exactly what we needed, comfort in a bowl.  The restaurant was owned by a lovely husband and wife who were so kind and warm.

 

Then came traditional Nepali masala milk tea, brewed with strong tea leaves, creamy milk, ginger, and local spices. It was rich and soothing, and yes, made with buffalo milk, which somehow makes it feel more adventurous and luxurious.
 

 

From there, the food really started to rain down. We tried Plain Bara, a Newari lentil pancake that was soft inside with just a slight crisp outside. Then Vegetarian Chatamari, a rice-flour crepe topped with mung beans, potatoes, vegetables, cheese, and spices. Think Nepali pizza but lighter and much less greasy and of course no cheese.

 

 

Then came Panipuri, which is basically a crispy hollow puri filled with spiced potatoes and topped with tangy mint water. You eat it in one bite or it explodes. There is no in between. The stall was literally a stall and Deepak had us walk inside to which we had clearly disturbed a fellow diner in this 2ft by 4ft space. Baba and M opted to stay outside, but it was definitely an awkward experience and took communal dining to a whole new level. 

 

After the panipuri, Deepak took us to a stall where the owner, who couldn’t have been much older than M pressed sugarcane into juice on a machine that looked 100 years old. He added freshly squeezed lemon and there you had it, the freshest naturally sweetened lemonade.
 

And then…momo. So. Many. Momo.

 

We had: Chicken steamed momo — soft, juicy, comforting..Paneer fried momo — golden and crispy on the outside, soft inside...Vegetarian kothay momo — pan-seared with a crispy base and soft top.
 

At this point, Baba was pacing himself like a professional eater. If you remember Seoul, you know that at our first stop there he went all in and couldn’t eat for the rest of the tour. And then came dessert. Which, honestly, should have required a warning: 
 

Thekuwa — deep-fried wheat biscuits sweetened with jaggery, crunchy and lightly spiced.

Selroti — a ring-shaped rice bread with a crisp outside and soft interior.

Chaku Yomari — steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with warm molasses (a winter favorite here).

Lal Mohan — deep-fried milk dumplings soaked in sugar syrup that are rich, sweet, and unapologetically indulgent.

 

 

By this stop, and thank goodness I was because the Chaku Yomari did not look very appetizing sitting in a big pot full of molasses that looked like anything but molasses. The owners of the stall, two sisters, probably in their 70s, looked upset that I wasn’t trying their food, and so they wrapped up everything for us to take and eat later as a midnight snack.
 

But what made the night special wasn’t just the food, it was the people. Honestly, I have never met more kind, humble and generous people in my life. Many of the places we visited were tiny, family-run spots where the owners live upstairs and specialize in just one or two dishes. It felt intimate and authentic, and we had the chance to talk with locals and try foods we had never even heard of before.
 

By the end of the evening, we were exhausted, slightly overstimulated, completely stuffed, and very grateful that we had Deepak guiding us through it all.
 

Kathmandu may have nearly taken us out with traffic, but it definitely won us over with food.