Nepali Times

If you’re looking to sample some southern delights during your stay at Lumbini, you will be sorely disappointed because most restaurants here offer the usual Nepali/Indian/Chinese/Continental muddle like Thamel.

We picked 3 Fox Restaurant because it had been highly recommended by travellers on the web. The place is decent with very basic decor: cemented floor, seven or eight big tables set up around the room, and a small terrace for those lovely early summer days. Since it had been pouring the whole morning, we started with a warm bowl of hot and sour vegetable soup (Rs 90) to beat the chill.

Our soup took forever to show up and the service in general was pretty slow. But we were quick to forgive because there was probably just one cook toiling away on a cold, overcast day trying to prepare orders for five tables. What we could not forgive was the mishmash of oily, overpowering tomato paste with tiny dices of carrots, cauliflowers, and garlic that 3 Fox tried to pass off as soup.

Next came our appetisers: chips chili (Rs 100) and cheese balls (Rs 150). The chips too were a major letdown. The tomato base (like in the soup) was just too sweet, the slices of tomatoes that were thrown in with capsicums and onions were too big and too ripe. To make things worse the fries were completely soggy and lacked the crispiness that makes chips chili such a favourite among Nepalis.

Luckily for us (and a face-saver for 3 Fox) the eight balls of cheese were heavenly. Deep fried and with generous portions of cheese, the fromage frais oozed out; almost tempting us to order another round. Our main course chicken Manchurian with plain rice (Rs 160) again was nothing much to write about. Other than the slow service, the waiters seemed pretty disinterested in our table and more absorbed in what was playing on tv.

Although the food is pretty ordinary, 3 Fox is popular among solo travellers and is a great place to chit chat with fellow tourists, share tips about places to visit in Nepal, ask around if anyone wants to share a taxi ride back to Bhairawa or find a travel companion.

How to get there: From the Lumbini gate at Mahilwar (Vishnupura) road, walk towards the bajar and after 500 metres make a right turn. Walk another 100 metres and you’ll see 3 Fox on your left-hand side.