Cocina Mitho Cha is an initiative led by a Spanish organisation that has been working in Nepal for a long time, helping out orphanages and displaced children. It realised it needed to do more than educate the students till high school and then send them out in the world with few skills with which to make a living. After a lot of deliberation, the team decided that due to the booming tourism trade, the service industry would always be on the look-out for trained cooks, waiters and house-keeping staff, and that is how Cocina Mitho Cha came into being.
Located in the heart of Lajimpat, the compound that houses the restaurant also has a cookery school and classrooms that offer classes in catering and house-keeping. They also have four rooms to let out; which in addition to providing a place for the learners to practice what they are learning first-hand also bring in much needed funds.
PICS: RUBY TUESDAY
I was impressed by its story and the tour I got of the premises from one of the students and our waiter for the afternoon, but I was mainly there for the food.
The zucchini cream soup (Rs 150) was recommended and what sold me on it was his description of it being flavored with freshly cut rosemary straight from their organic garden. It was definitely creamy, a little too much for my liking as it drowned out the flavours of the vegetable and the rosemary was so mild as to be virtually non-existent.
The coca de recapte (Rs 290, pic) was a thin crust pastry baked to a crisp that came topped with escalivada, a Catalan dish that uses grilled vegetables, caramelised onions, peppers and goat cheese. The sweetness of the pastry contrasted sharply with the pungency of the onions and peppers, and though the variance in the two takes some getting used to, it is a delightful little starter.
The Pollo al ajillo (Rs 425, pic. above) was described on the menu as a typical Spanish dish of roasted chicken and potatoes aromatised with parsley and garlic. I had no expectations of what the dish would be for I was venturing into completely new culinary territory. The plate set in front of me contained just what the menu had described- chunks of chicken with potatoes.
And while this would have been perfectly acceptable if I was say, eating in a Spanish home, with salad or some accompaniment on the side, but as a restaurant dish, I expected a little more detail to presentation and service. Though both meat and starch were cooked well, it was dry and if it hadn’t been for the delicious iced tea to lubricate each bite down my throat, I would have left with a bruised and scraped gullet.
I needed some happiness to end my meal and that came in the guise of Crema Catalana (Rs 180). A rich velvety dessert with crunchy sugar bits that can at best be described as Catalan’s version of the much loved crème caramel.
While I loved the whole ethos behind the opening of Cocina Mitho Cha and will go back, because in a small way I want to feel like I’m helping others while feeding my gluttony, I also think that unless the restaurant works on improving the food that they serve, they will have more patrons walking out saying ‘Cocina Mitho Chaina’ instead of the other way round.
How to get there: On Lajimpat’s beautifully new paved streets, look out for Hotel Gangjong. Cocina Mitho Cha is in the gully smack opposite it.