Bhumi Restaurant and Bar

Dining Extravaganza at Bhumi

Published On: The Corporate Weekly
Text By: Sujan Tiwari
Photos by: Rukesh Shrestha

What are the features that completely describe a place, a town, a city? Ambience, the feel, the structures, the language, the people? But no place could reveal its entirety without its cuisine. No ancient land is without its recipes. The same can be said about our very own city, Kathmandu.

Kathmandu is famous for its numerous jatras and the feasts associated with them. The native Newars have a culture of extravagant feasts, with the number of delicacies served exceeding the imagination of an outsider. A traditional Newari feast consists of 84 various food items. However, that is somehow reduced now. Still, any ordinary feast these days has over two dozen varieties served. No Newari feast is complete without chhiura or baji (beaten rice), chhoila (meat boiled or smoked and marinated with spices), bara (ground black lentil patty), soy beans, boiled fried eggs, fried fish, a curry of potato, mixed beans and bamboo shoots, many differentcurries and spicy pickles and not to forget, aila, a homemade Newari liquor.

Anyone willing to try the whole Newari cuisine would have to attend a cultural Newari feast, and those who aren’t lucky enough can get a taste of it at numerous roadside restaurants. But for those who want more than that, who want to enjoy the age old cuisine in a classy and trendy place, there are a few restaurants in town.

Bhumi at Lazimpat is such one. Bhumi has been serving traditional Newari dishes for more than three years now. Though the place also serves Nepali, Indian and continental cuisine, Newari cuisine is its specialty. “We take pride in serving the Newari cuisine to our customers, as it is not available in much of the renowned

restaurants,” says Yogendra Shrestha, the chef at Bhumi. According to him, foreigners love the cuisine, therefore this cuisine has prospects of becoming a globally renowned one.

The restaurant is named Bhumi, meaning earth or soil; after the main dining hall of the restaurant. The hall is decorated by Mithila art, a traditional form of art that is practiced by women of Janakpur. The art is totally traditional, with colours made from household spices and plants. The restaurant got it done calling the authentic artists from Janakpur, and even the soil needed for the art was brought from Janakpur itself, says Gyan Bhadur Gurung, the manager of the restaurant. Hence the name, Bhumi.

The place serves all the Newari food items including chhoela, kachhila, bara, fokso, all the possible curries and pickles. If you want to follow the chef, you can choose fokso (lungs filled with batter and fried) as your starter. As the main course, you must have samaya baji. Samaya baji consists of baji (beaten rice), haku musya (black soybean), chhoela (smoked meat), puka la(spicy roast meat), alu walagu (marinated boiled potato), bhuti (boiled beans with spices), khen (boiled egg), panchhakwa (curry of potato, mixed beans and bamboo shoots), wo (black lentil patty), lava-palu (ginger and garlic), pickle, wauncha (green vegetables) and aila. And for the dessert, there is sikarni, which is yogurt with dry fruits and cinnamon flavoured with vanilla. For snacks, Bhumi also has special chatamari, another signature Newari dish, which is a crispy pancake of rice flour topped with egg, minced meat, ground black lentil, and spices.

In addition to Newari, the place also has a wide variety of Indian dishes that include tandoori, (veg, chicken, mutton or fish), different veg and non veg curries along with naan and roti. Other typical Nepali meals are also a favourite at Bhumi. For those who want to stick with the ordinary, soups, salads, sizzlers and other everyday dishes are also available here.

Besides the mouth watering dishes, Bhumi specializes in one more thing, and that is its cocktails, mocktails and liquors. The place is more famous for its specialized shooters that are made from every type of spirit you can think of. That includes whiskey, gin, rum, vodka and everything in between. You name a spirit and Bhumi has got more than a few shooters made of it.

There is also a wide selection of American, Canadian and Irish whiskey. Bhumi serves martinis, aperitifs, brandies, cognacs, wines, champagnes, rums, gins, vermouth, cordials, schnapps, liqueurs and what not. And not to mention aila, the Newari distillate. This place is a paradise for those who have a taste for alcohol. And for teetotallers, there are number of delicious mocktails, iced teas, coffees and coffee cocktails.

A green garden, a wide open dining hall, a well furnished lounge and a few other rooms are your choices to relax and enjoy the meal. A warm ambience, a range of cuisines and an overgenerous bar, this is what Bhumi has to offer.

Bhumi has been serving traditional Newari dishes for more than three years now. Though the place also serves Nepali, Indian and continental cuisine, Newari cuisine is its specialty.