The Celebration Foods Of Nepal’s Newari Community

“Sampling Samay baji, “Nepali pizza” and other specialties from the Newari kitchen”

Kathmandu may be most visitors’ entry point to the wonders of Nepal, but it is cussedly difficult to love. Many of its ancient structures were lost to the 2015 earthquake and reconstruction and rebuilding continues everywhere. Efforts to make badly needed, welcomed improvements to the city’s crumbling infrastructure have further ratcheted up the chaos quotient of the city. When Tom and I had an opportunity for a glimpse of the indigenous Newari culture in the outlying towns of Kirtipur and Patan, we were happy to take a day—and our face masks—off, for a “Newari break” from Kathmandu’s craziness.

Rakesh Shahi, founder of Mystik Mountains Adventure & Holidays, was our guide, introducing us to Newari foods over the course of our day together. We had lunch at a traditional restaurant in Kirtipur, a center of Newari culture and architecture in centuries past. We visited at a mainstream Newari restaurant in Patan, where we enjoyed a break for lassi under an ancient, low-slung roof and at a table with a view of Patan’s Durbar Square. Finally, we stopped for sweets at a tiny Newari restaurant just a few blocks behind Durbar Square.

We had a great time, and learned quite a bit of history too! We traveled to different locations and tried Samaya Baji.