Cao Zhen

IF you like curry but aren’t keen on anything too flaming hot, give Nepalese cuisine a try.

The Nepal Restaurant and Bar, located near Coco Park in Futian District, serves authentic Nepalese and Indian food, with some ingredients imported from the Himalayan region of Nepal. Decorated with Hindu and Buddhist paintings, the restaurant attracts business people from around the Futian central business district, according to owner Pramond Ghimire, who has been in Shenzhen for seven years.

A cup of warm masala tea, a red tea mixed with ginger, cloves, milk, sugar and black pepper, acts as an excellent non-alcoholic aperitif to the meal. In Nepal, masala tea is usually served with butter, to ward against the cold of the mountain country.

The restaurant serves a range of starters, from onion bhaji and various salads to samosa. The recommended salad is khasi-ko chhoila with warm fillet of barbecued lamb, cooked in krum and fenugreek seeds and mixed with fresh cucumber, tomato, white onion, carrot and chopped coriander.

The most common Nepalese snack is momo, dumplings filled with minced lamb or chicken and served with a yellow curry dip.

A famous Nepalese festival soup is kwati-ko-rash, a blend of various beans, ginger, pepper and jimbu, a herb imported from the Himalayan mountains and used extensively in Nepal. The herb, which has a taste somewhere between onions and chives, is most commonly used dried and the dried leaves are fried in ghee to enhance the flavor.

Potatoes are an important staple food in Nepal, so don’t miss the aloo chop, fried potato pancakes marinated in fresh herbs.

Apart from classic Nepalese and Indian food, such as tandoori, various curry dishes, naan bread and basmati rice, there is also a selection of imported red and white wines from Argentina, Chile, Italy, Australia, France, New Zealand and the United States.

An approximate cost per head (not including wine) is 90 yuan (US$13.43).

Add: Shop 150, North Zone, Coco Park, intersection of Mintian Road and Fuhua Road, Futian District (福田区福华路和民田路交汇处购物公园北园150号尼泊尔餐厅)

Tel: 8295-3332