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2010-02-06
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"I was excited to spot this place hidden in the back streets below the hulk of The Belchers. Hong Kong has so few Nepalese places that it’s always good to have another one, plus the humble front of this place made me optimistic it might be reasonably authentic.But things quickly began to disappoint. First, I noticed they offered Spanish Tapas alongside Nepalese food in what I could only take as an attempt to cash in on two markets. Then, the menu felt disappointingly limited. Instead of offerin
But things quickly began to disappoint. First, I noticed they offered Spanish Tapas alongside Nepalese food in what I could only take as an attempt to cash in on two markets. Then, the menu felt disappointingly limited. Instead of offering something distinctly Nepalese, most of the dishes resembled those served in India restaurants across town, and the more standard dishes offered by these places at that. There were korma and jal-frezi curries, a few tandori dishes, but nothing much else.
We went for a Kathmandu fish curry with mustard seeds, which looked like one of the more unusual things on the menu. It shared a problem suffered by most of the fish curries I’ve had, the delicate taste of the soft white fish becoming completely lost in the sauce. Instead of cheap white fish, it would be nice to see curries made with something slightly meatier. The curry’s sauce wasn’t bad, tasting convincingly rich and thick, with the mustard seeds adding a nice hint. However it lacked the subtle hints of spice and feeling of balance that have made curries I’ve had before really stand out. The small metal dish of curry we were given also felt very small, especially considering that it cost around HK$80.
The mixed tandoori was also distinguished primarily by its size. It was about half as big as similar dishes offered in other restaurants and really felt insubstantial considering the HK$100 price tag. The small pieces of sausage tasted good, with mixed lamb nicely blended with herbs, but their flavour didn’t really compensate for their measly size. The ostrich meat, the one slightly more unusual part of this mix, was very tough and uninspiring. Better Tandoori can definitely be found at some of the restaurants in Chungking.
The samosas we had to try and supplement these shrunken portions were also on the small side. They tasted very dry – as though frozen or made a long time ago – and had been reheated quickly (maybe microwaved) so that the insides were still lukewarm. They were a depressingly long way from the crisp, slightly flaky-shelled, Samosas that you can get just fried on the streets of India. You can also pick up much better samosas for about a third of the price just by wandering around Chungking mansions.
We also had some Nepalese Ghurka beer (HK32), which came in small bottles and was very watery and lacking in flavour. I switched across to something else after my first glass.
My biggest complaint about Kathmandu is the price of the dishes, which mostly sat between HK$80 and $100. This might be justified if these are for huge, or even normal sized, portions, but for the shrunken serving we seemed to get it felt too much. Equally, it might be okay if the restaurant was producing some really outstanding cooking. I will happily pay for tiny servings of really great Japanese food, for example. But the food here was largely very mediocre. I don’t think I will return."
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