A mere 30-minute drive from the city, Gokarna Forest Resort offers a quiet respite from the tumult of Kathmandu. The hotel has four restaurants, and this time we chose to dine at 8848Mt Bar & Patio.
The bar is spacious, offering a nice view of the hotel gardens. Although casual, the interior decoration could have been cosier to correspond with the overall grandiose architecture of the resort.
8848Mt Bar & Patio has a wide offering of cuisines but before eating though, try the refreshing Florida mocktail, (Rs 400) a mix of orange, pineapple, mango juices and grenadine syrup, which is perfect for hot days.
The first dish we had was the baked Rainbow Trout (Rs 1450) with spinach rice, honey glazed carrot, peas and caper butter sauce. Sourced from a local farm, the fish was fresh and well-cooked. Combined with the tastes of honey and butter, it went very well with the vegetables.
PICS: OPHÉLIE BELIN
We continued with the spinach and walnut pie (Rs 600), served with fries and salad. This rightly roasted puff pastry had a delicate texture. But the spinach and baked cheese over it tasted a bit bland.
The lettuce was from the hotel’s garden. Although the chef mentioned that he had tried to make healthier recipes, the salad served with frozen chips lacked the freshness factor. In response, the chef explained that Nepali potatoes were simply not rich enough in starch to make good French fries.
The grilled tenderloin steak (Rs 650), lightly peppery was our third dish. The meat imported from Dubai was cooked medium-well and very tender. For the side dish, there were tasty pumpkin sticks accompanied by French beans and fried potatoes. This was a simple yet, really pleasant combination.
Our favourite dish was the pork chop (Rs 1800). It was cooked to perfection with a homemade mustard sauce drizzled upon it to sublimate its taste. The pork was served with mashed potatoes subtly mixed with green apple – an unexpected combination, which was surprising to the taste buds.
In addition, all the dishes were plated beautifully.
To finish the meal, we had two desserts. The first was an apple pie with ice cream on top (Rs 525). The pastry was smooth and the apple filling was delicious. We were however disappointed with the chocolate mousse (Rs 450). It was not creamy enough and we felt the price was too steep for what was on the plate.
8848Mt Bar & Patio offers simple bistro cuisine but with a touch of originality that will surely make dining there an interesting and enjoyable experience.
How to get there: The Gokarna Forest Resort is a 10km drive from Kathmandu’s airport and is located inside the Gokarna Forest Reserve in Thali.