Kathmandu:

Tired of the exotic cuisines? Why not try something really different like say African cuisine? There’s a place in your own Kathmandu that serves authentic African cuisine — Jazzabell Café at Pulchowk.

And what’s more they have an African chef to prepare the delicacies. Though you can find Thai, Italian and Nepali dishes on the menu, the African dishes are the demand of the recent days. This is all because of the UN people who frequent the place. They liked the place so much that they asked for the African cuisine to be included and even suggested Chef Joseph’s name. Chef Joseph is now the undisputed king of African cuisine here.

African cuisine usually has rice, soup and stew.

The Eggplant soup (accompanied by rice) is one dish you should not miss. This soup has egg plant, chunks of deep fried chicken, pork and fish. The colour and mouth-watering aroma work as an appetiser, and the taste does not disappoint you.

The other dish you must bite into is the Whole fried snapper (also served with rice). The red snapper fish is marinated in traditional African spices and is either fried or grilled. The tastes work perfectly for the Nepali palate.

Africans are fond of chillies. So the dishes are served with African pepper sauce.

Whether you are trying African cuisine or something else, the one preparation you cannot afford to miss is the ‘Chicken Basket’. These are small crispy flour baskets filled with the goodness of white cream sauce, chopped mushroom, chicken and flavoured with pepper and parsley. It melts in your mouth.

If you are on a diet, try the Hawaiian Chicken Salad prepared with garden fresh red and green crunchy capsicum and lettuce tossed with shredded chicken, mayonnaise and cream. Just purrrfect!

The Lemon grilled chicken is a taste of heaven — grilled chicken breasts with white sauce and tangy flavour of lemon. It is served with mashed potatoes and steamed green vegetables. The mashed potatoes is not heavy as they use less milk.

The Red Thai curry prepared by Chef Khusi Thanet is one of the best in town. Prepared with capsicum, tomato, beans and chicken cooked in coconut milk, it has a hot and sour taste with the subtle flavour of lemon grass.

The restaurant has both Western and Nepali sitting arrangements, with the dark wood furniture giving it a polished look. The bar is well stocked and boasts of providing the best cocktails and mocktails in town. Staying true to its name, eating out at Jazzabell is a truly Jazz affair — with music soothing your ears and the walls adorned with photos of Jazz musicians.

Beginning August 31, Jazzabell is holding an ‘African Weekend’, with the Friday African Blast when you can dance to the African beats with the best African DJ, while you can enjoy African cuisine on Saturday and Sunday with your family and friends.

Call 01-2114075.

Bartenders’ delight

KATHMANDU: The barteders of the Capital’s top bars have been undergoing a five-day bartending course at Hotel Radisson. August 31 will see the three best bartenders selected at the hotel’s Olive Bar & Bistro.

The course will end with an interactive session with ‘Celebrity Bartender’ Irfan Ahmed aka the Cocktail King. He also conducts regular workshops and training at the Raffles in Singapore. He has been in the business for more than 14 years and currently owns the sauve night club in Kolkata Soho.

In the evening Ahmed along with the top three bar tenders will cater to all the clients at the Olive Bar and Bistro along with the live performance by the in-house band Dolly and the Treasure Band.

The event is organised by Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. — HNS

Fun food fair at Everest

KATHMANDU: Here is a great way to spend this weekend. The Everest Hotel is ready with its ‘Fun Food Fair 2007’ at the Café poolside for August 31.

The fair is a way of introducing the hotel’s new Executive Chef Mazhar Alam, who joined the hotel three months ago, and can prepare 20 different kinds of cuisine. He has worked in India, Dubai, Africa and Jordan and has also been awarded the Master Chef 1999 by the government of Dubai.

Chef Alam is planning to present Chinese, Indian, Continental and Italian cuisines at the event. He will be preparing lasagne, pasta with different sauces, special Seekh kebab roll and Mughlai dishes, among others. “We have put varieties of food and snacks to cater to everyone’s taste,” he says.

Not only the food, you can also win lots of door prizes and dance all night to Bollywood mixes by DJ Zahangir. There will be dance troops from Nepal and India performing folk, ethnic, salsa and filmy numbers.

The Fair starts at 7:30 pm. Ticket is priced Rs 600 nett per person including welcome drink and unlimited food. — HNS