Nepali Times

Opened three months ago, Café Aamu is one of the newer restaurants in Krishnagalli, a quiet neighborhood (until a certain supermarket opened) in Lalitpur, that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

PICS: ELAINE WANG YIWEI

The Aamu in Café Aamu is owner and chef Archana Tamang, who besides being a fantastic cook is also a human rights consultant. Archana’s kitchen philosophy is to prepare food with “that extra dash of love”.

The Environment

With a balcony outside and a bar inside, the restaurant is a lovely place for travellers to relax after a strenuous trek or to meet long-lost friends for a meal. The balcony might be a little small for a big group, but provides perfect seating for a group of four or two.

The Food

Vegetarian or not, Café Aamu offers a lot of choices on its menu. If you are a rice lover and crave Chinese food all-day, all-week, then the Tofu and Chinese Black Mushroom with Rice (Rs 225) is a must try. The dish has traditional Chinese flavours and won my approval on the very first taste.

Chicken Tai Pao (Rs 200) was another crowd pleaser. While the steamed bun with meat and egg fillings tastes as authentic as one can get here, the complimentary tomato and chilli sauce gives it a Nepali twist.

The restaurant also serves Chicken Da Pao (Rs 175). Archana said she was inspired to cook this version of the more famous dumplings after her husband, who works in China recommended it.

If your palate leans more towards Indian flavours, then the Chicken in hot garlic sauce with rice (Rs 280) should not be missed. The dish is flavourful, garlicky and a perfect choice for winter.

Sweet Thai Pasta with chicken (Rs 200) will appeal to those who do not mind experimenting with their food. The only dish that we ordered and didn’t like at Aamu’s was Chicken Chow Mien (Rs 145). It was bland, and lacked the flavours that other dishes had.

Although the Café has three cooks, Archana does 70 percent of the cooking. “I worked with the UN in Nepal and attended meetings around the world, but my passion for cooking just draws me back to this place,” said Archana. A decent meal at Café Aamu would cost around Rs 300 per person, with tax and service fee included.

The Service

Although the waiters are polite and kind, the waiting time for dishes is simply too long – our orders took 30 minutes to arrive.

Also, be sure to confirm your order with the waiter as well, otherwise you might end up having to wait extra 20 minutes because the waiter conveniently forgot the order.

Being a newly opened restaurant, Aamu’s still has a lot of room for improvement especially in regards to their service. But, the owner’s charm and her delicious food makes up for the gap and this writer for one will definitely be visiting again with friends.

How to get there: Café Aamu is located in Krishnagalli, on a quiet lane between Bench Burger and Bhatbhateni supermarket.