tibetan restaurant

[vandan]

well folks much to my chagrin looks like that tibetan place on w. broadway is now history before i had a chance to even try it, i think maybe its uniqueness was both its biggest strength and worst enemy , so did any of manage to try it , if so how was it?

[Vancouver]

Has anyone tried Cafe Kathmandu yet?

Cheers!

[Ducky]

i think maybe its uniqueness was both its biggest strength and worst enemy

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[Ducky]

i think maybe its uniqueness was both its biggest strength and worst enemy ,

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Sorry about the last post.

I think you are right in this. But also - having once been to Tibet - I am not sure there is much of a cuisine there - though I would like to think I'm wrong in this. The place is landlocked and bog-poor and most people are just subsistence farmers. We saw lots of bad Chinese food to be had there - and some local Yak-derived things that don't bear mention in this forum. Perhaps there were some distinct and interesting culinary traditions in Tibet in former times. Does anyone know?

I saw the sign on Broadway for a few months, but found the prospect about as exciting as, say, a Rawandan restaurant.

[Vancouver Lee]

Has anyone tried Cafe Kathmandu yet?

Cheers!

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I didn't think they were open yet. I used to drive by there evry day before 12th Ave was closed, and their windows were still papered.

I just called them to enquire, and I *think* they may be open now.....the person who answered the phone who spoke next to no English.

[vandan]

i've been bycafe kathmandu a few times and shot the shit about my travels in nepal with the owner , a really nice man, and am looking forward to eating there once they open for lunch, dinner only at present

[3WholeCardamoms]

But also - having once been to Tibet - I am not sure there is much of a cuisine there - though I would like to think I'm wrong in this. The place is landlocked and bog-poor and most people are just subsistence farmers. We saw lots of bad Chinese food to be had there - and some local Yak-derived things that don't bear mention in this forum. Perhaps there were some distinct and interesting culinary traditions in Tibet in former times. Does anyone know?

I saw the sign on Broadway for a few months, but found the prospect about as exciting as, say, a Rawandan restaurant.

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[Vancouver]

Some of the menu items from Cafe Kathmandu sound pretty good and I'm ready to try them:

- Aaloo achaar - Chilled sesame-lemon potato salad flavored with timmur (Himalayan peppercorns)

- Bhatmaas - Toasted soybeans, quick-fried with fresh ginger, garlic and chili and garnished with fresh coriander.

- Singadaa - Baked pastry puffs filled with vegetable curry, and your choice of achaar (sauce) for dipping

- Lhasa Momo - Steamed dumplings with a savory filling, served with your choice of sesame-cilantro or tomato chutney.

- Kaauli - Turmeric-infused cauliflower with fenugreek potatoes

- Khasiko maasu - Piquant goat meat in curry sauce

- Kothay - Golden fried dumplings, crunchy on the outside, succulent filling on the inside, served with sesame-cilantro or tomato chutney.

All sound pretty tasty to me. I'm looking forward to trying it, and also hearing from others that have!

Cheers!

[Ducky]

[

I respect your right to say anything, but i think this is an ignorant post, ducky.

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Well, 3W, this kind of invective leaves me a bit cold.

My point was really quite modest, viz., that during two weeks in Tibet we found no culinary offerings whatsoever (and believe me, we did look) that would incline us to seek out a Tibetan restaurant in Vancouver. I made this point in reply to post that speculated why a Tibetan restaurant on Broadway might have disappeared rather quickly. Based on my experience, I think I understand why this restaurant might have failed.

If there is something I am missing about Tibetan cuisine - please enlighten me.

It's a tired point perhaps, but not all cuisines are equally interesting - and there is a reason for this.

[3WholeCardamoms]

[

I respect your right to say anything, but i think this is an ignorant post, ducky.

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Well, 3W, this kind of invective leaves me a bit cold.

My point was really quite modest, viz., that during two weeks in Tibet we found no culinary offerings whatsoever (and believe me, we did look) that would incline us to seek out a Tibetan restaurant in Vancouver. I made this point in reply to post that speculated why a Tibetan restaurant on Broadway might have disappeared rather quickly. Based on my experience, I think I understand why this restaurant might have failed.

If there is something I am missing about Tibetan cuisine - please enlighten me.

It's a tired point perhaps, but not all cuisines are equally interesting - and there is a reason for this.

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I don't think that it is mere invective to state that something could be read as ignorant.

Where did you seek 'culinary offerings'? I understand in what context you made your statement(s). Correct me, but did you not deny the title 'cuisine' to Tibetan 'offerings'. To you it seems merely food, 'cuisine' is reserved for something higher. To you, it was uninteresting. Fine.

The Tibetans I know are all about food, all about the meal and that ritual. Those I know are goooood eaters. Apparently they are without 'cuisine' and eaters of unmentionable yak products. This could be seen to render them a people who are satisfied by simple or boring or uninteresting food. And that seemed ridiculous. To me, this read as ignorant - your subjective opinion based on your tastes, palate, experience in Tibet is your own.

I only contested what i thought was safely contestable.

PM me if you'd like.

[Ducky]

[

I respect your right to say anything, but i think this is an ignorant post, ducky.

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To me, this read as ignorant - your subjective opinion based on your tastes, palate, experience in Tibet is your own.

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Yes, my subjective experiences are my own - as are the opinions I form as a result of those experiences. So far you have stated nothing here that would incline me to change those opinions.

For some reason you keep suggesting that I am ignorant because I do not share your views. From what I have read above, I am very happy not to share your views.

If you can convince me that Tibetan cuisine is something I should in future be seeking out - I would love to hear from you. If not, I think I will take my pail and shovel and play in another sandbox.

[sniffles]

"... the person who answered the phone who spoke next to no English"

Oooh, it must be authentic then! It the place kid friendly?

Vandan, do they serve thukpa? Buff momo's?

[sniffles]

"... the person who answered the phone who spoke next to no English"

Oooh, it must be authentic then! It the place kid friendly?

vandan, do they serve thukpa? buff momo's?

[vandan]

not sure of that, would guess they'll have momo's but as for them being buff as in nepal, for price reasons they might'nt be

[Jeffy Boy]

vandan, do they serve thukpa? buff momo's?

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When I first read this I thought WTF? thukpa? buff momo? I have no idea what this is.

So through my friend google, I found that thukpa looks like a noodle soup, and momo are like dumplings. And I think buff momos would be made with water buffalo meat? The site through the links above has pictures and recipes for a number of Nepalese dishes. Think I'll have to check out Cafe Kathmandu!

[nondual1]

Has anyone tried Cafe Kathmandu yet?

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Finally did. Had the following (description here:

Choilaa (with chicken)

Lhasa Momo (vegetarian)

Raaio

Daal jhaaneko

Kukhurako maasu

The two of us washed them down with Nepali tea and mango yogurt drink.

Having been to Nepal once, I must say what the cafe offers is better than what the trip offered many times over. The cafe is very nicely-appointed, with a certain calming effect -- due no doubt to its extremely high ceiling, the choice of colour, and perhpas that picture with the Karmapa and Dalai Lama -- so the first impression was very nice. I was expecting real Tibetan food (more on that below) until I was handed the menu: the only thing that sounded remotely Tibetan was the momo, all else more Indo-Nepali instead. Since I like Indian food no less, not to worry.

When the food arrived, it was quite a surprise -- not Indian at all! They were much more refreshing and less spicy than Indian; definitely a very Nepali take on them. Instead of a lot of dry spcies, the flavour was achieved through fresh herbs and vegetables; rather than very heavy sauces, they were light and delicate. One might even say there was a slight resemblance to Thai or Cambodian dishes.

The citrusy and cilantro-flavoured Chicken Choilaa was a really nice appetizer that got the juice flowing. The Momo, though not bad in and of itself, was *not* how the Tibetans would have done it: it was confirmed by the owner/server that, instead of taking the time to roll out the dough the Tibetan way, store-bought Chinese dumpling wrapper was used. It just didn't have the texture of real Tibetan Momo.

The Raaio, although a little bland, was quite an eye-opener, with a nice contrast of ingredients. The Dal was very nicely done: smooth and with just enough spiciness to bring out the natural flavour of lentils. Sometimes Indian Dal can be a little over-cooked or something, making it too heavy and numbing; this was light and refreshing. Perhaps the best was the curry (Kukhurako maasu). It was unlike any curry from either Thai or Indian that I had had before. The chicken was falling-apart smooth and the curry temptingly spicy (not spicy as in hot, but as in weaved together by many spices). The dishes went very well with the basmati rice.

The tea and the yogurt drink were both forgetable -- we should have gone with the alcoholic drinks instead.

All in all, a pretty nice dinner, although I cannot ascertain whether it was authentic Nepali or not. Tibetan, however, it definitely wasn't.

And, now that I have dined at Cafe Kathmandu and the now-defunct ZHZ Tibetan (on Broadway), I feel that I can say a few things about Tibetan food in Vancouver.

Well, there ain't none... at least not that I know of.

ZHZ was owned and run by a Tibetan from Amdo (Qinghai), who had spent most of his adult life in Beijing, going to art school. Although he managed to offer a few authentic home-cooked dishes (said assessment was made by the Tibetans I went with), most of the items on the menu were not Tibetan. The fatal flaw that caused its quick demise was his refusal (or inability?) to serve Momo and butter-tea, the two items that most non-Tibetans associate with Tibetan food. His excuse for the former was a lack of time, since he was the only one in the kitchen, and the latter, the absence of the proper kind of tea. Well, he might have been a really good artist, but he definitely didn't know how to run a business.

I have had Tibetan food at commercial establishments, ones that are better than ZHZ, as well as Tibetan homes -- I even attended a Tibetan wedding banquet. I have cooked for Tibetans as well. Inasmuch as I do like some of the Tibetan dishes (e.g., Momos, boiled mutton, Shamdey and so on), it really does not amount to much of a "cuisine." It has been quite monotonous until recent years, when imports from and interactions with the Han Chinese greatly expand the horizon. Traditionally, the common Tibetan diet was not a whole lot more than tsampa and tea, with the occasional treat of meat and soup. Momo was festive food and thukpa (noodle) was somewhat of a show of status. Not all Tibetans drank butter-tea, it being more a taste of the city gentries, especially in the Lhasa area; nomads from, for example, Kham (or Eastern Tibet) and most peasants just drank milk tea. Butter often was reserved for use as fuel, especially for the lights on the shrine.

Many, although by no means all, of the Tibetan dishes bear a strong resemblance to certain Indian and Chinese dishes, which, incidentally, are much more delicious than their Tibetan counterparts. For example, goubuli baozhi or xiaolong bao, depending on the local variation, is more refined and tasty than most Momos; curries from India, or even Nepal, are more complex and delicious than Shamdey. Few dishes are uniquely Tibetan, except for perhaps yak products and tsampa. Others might differ, but I cannot say I take a great liking to dried yak-cheese, and the taste I have developed for tsampa is more out of cultural curiosity than gastronomical appreciation. Many Tibetans I know have similar feelings: when given a choice, they really wouldn't mind being served non-Tibetan dishes, leaving the Tibetan food for the time when they feel home-sick. And, of course, there are many who are born outside of Tibet ("Bo") and really have not that predicament to worry about.

Perhaps knowing that it is not offering authentic Tibetan food, Cafe Kathmandu seems to have stopped promoting itself as so, opting instead for the label "Himalayan." Be that as it may, but I wonder what the deal is with the poorly-crafted tangkhas it's hanging on its wall and the "buddha-eye" it has painted on its wall.