Food of the Himalayas: Nepali Kitchen0

★★★☆☆

Early the other night, I started to crave something not normally satisfied by Chinese food.  And although I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was I needed, I also knew it didn’t come in the form of any western meal.  I wanted something different.  I wanted something with robust flavor, with tender meat, with plates of spiced vegetables.  I wanted the warm flavor of cumin married with cardamom.  I wanted Nepali Kitchen.

Dimly lit by paper lanterns of various shapes and colors, Nepali Kitchen is warmed by the orange glow of its lights and the smell of curry.  And with prayer flags hung on the beams on the ceiling and with brightly colored cushions on the floor, the Kitchen quickly transported us to the Nepalese Himalayas.

Not famished, we only ordered a few dishes.  I quickly suggested my favorite appetizer here – deep-fried samosas.  Heartily stuffed with green peas, ground nuts and potatoes, the vegetables are accented by the flaky, though dense, pastry in which they are enveloped.  Almost too filling, we decided to only order a few more items.

The curry, boasting tender morsels of slowly cooked lamb, was best soaked up with the warmed garlic paratha.  Well flavored, the fusion of cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and other spices created both depth and the same warmth created by our setting.

The Aloo Kobi was simple, yet served as a well-suited contrast to the gravy of the lamb.  The cauliflower and potatoes were lightly fried with similar spices, but offered a very different experience from the curry.  The cauliflower was tender, and the potatoes soft.  Appropriately dry, the vegetables stood their own against the complex and alluring flavors of the mutton dish.

Although our meal was small, it filled my need for that something different.  And for an hour or two, we had been whisked out of Shanghai to the world’s highest mountains.  But with a single step on to Julu Lu, we were greeted by the stench of fermented tofu frying and quickly brought back to China.

• ¥¥¥
• Nepali Kitchen
• 819 Julu Lu near Fumin Lu
• Former French Concession
  
• 电话: +86 5404 6281