Mixed Fare : Oriental food platter

KATHMANDU:

Bored with the same old menu when you go out to eat? Ever wished you have more choices of cuisine under one roof? Here is a wonderful opportunity for all you food lovers. Arniko Restaurant at Hotel de’l Annapurna is hosting an Oriental Food Festival, which has cuisine from different Asian countries in one menu.

“Our restaurant is very famous for the Chinese cuisine it serves, but to provide more varieties to our guests, we have included dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore and Mongolia in our Oriental Food Festival menu. Apart from the festival dishes, the regular menu will also be served. All popular dishes of this festival will be added to our existing menu,” says the Executive Chef of Annapurna Ajay Pathak.

The menu consists of a four-course meal with starter, soup, main course and dessert.

The cuisine served have a large spread of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. “Basics

of all the Asian food are almost similar, but unlike Indian and Nepali dishes, these food

are fast in cooking. Apart from Thai food, which has large amount of coconut used, all have the same basic ingredients,” says Chef Pathak.

According to him, vegetables, spices and other ingredients are from the local market, and as they are very conscious about the freshness of the products used, the Bechuwa fish used is from Nepal, but other seafood like prawn are imported from India.

Not forgetting the vegetarians, a huge number of vegetarian dishes have found a place in the menu. Dishes prepared from tofu (bean curd), paneer, egg plant, beans and Chinese greens are ready to win hearts of many.

The best part of any meal is the dessert. Though dates have always been a favourite with the Chinese, this time Chef Pathak has tried to use seasonal fruits such as mango and lychee to bring a fresh twist.

The food festival is on till June 16.