Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n

Did you know that the Nepalese flag is the only one in the world that's not rectangular or square in shape? Me either. Neither did I know about Nepal's many ethnic minorities, including the biggest, The Newa. According to Wikipedia the Newal are the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley and the term Newars applies roughtly to the descendants of citizens of Medieval Nepal.
Suraj Shrestha is Newl and his restaurant, Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n in Brisbane's Paddington serves up typical Newar cuisine.
Those used to Indian food or who like their spices won't find it too strange. Spices that feature heavily include mustard oil, cumin, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, methi, bayleaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chili and mustard seeds. Lemon and vinegar are also used for flavouring.

One of the NGC members and I recently went there, and over-ordered so wildly, we didn't make much inroad into the food, leaving an embaressment of half eaten dishes all over the table. At the end of this feast, after I'd slipped my shoes back on (we were in the purple room, where you sit on cushions on the floor) I went to pay and got the staff in a bit of a panic when I queried my bill. It wasn't that it was so exxy, just the opposite. I can't remember the last time I paid $50 for two for a meal (1989?).

Last night with no food in the house and no inspiration, I decided to try their takeaway. Sherpa chicken for the 9 year old, goru ko masu for me, plus some pappadums, raita and veggie and mango pickle. The Sherpa chicken, cooked in a creamy sauce with coriander, lime leaf and a little lemon juice was actually a surprise, quite complex and delicious, although flecked with hundreds of tiny pieces of chilli which just sat at the border of the nine year olds heat tolerance. All dishes come in 'mild' with no chilli, 'medium' ('a bit of a bite') and 'Hot' ('As hot as you like it') but the terms are very subjective, varying with who's at the stove at the time. My Goru, slow cooked beef with cardamom, cumin, coriander and cinnamon was perfect for a cold and rainy night, and had just enough chili to tingle an adult's tastebuds. The pickles however, didn't so much as have a 'bit of a bite', as ferociously attack our tastbuds until we wanted to rip 'em our ourselves.

It's interesting that menu, which also contains vegetarian and vegan dishes also has a good share of beef and other meat. The Newa'a people are, after all, a mix of Hindu and Buddhism, the former forbidding the consumption of beef, the latter of all meat. However, it seems the Newa'a practise either Vajrayana Buddhism or Tantric Hinduism. Both are characterised by the reversal of the values of orthodox Hinduism and Buddhism- so while normally, sexual abstinence, vegetarianism, non-violence, and teetotaling are practised, the Newa'a can 'copulate, eat meat, sacrifice animals, and consume fermented and distilled drinks ritually.'

I suspect there's a bit of catering to Western palates that goes on at the Newa Chhe'n, but it still offers an intriguing and good value menu.

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n
72 Latrobe Tce
Paddington
3369 7272
(closed Fridays)