Ever since Boris Lissanevitch settled down in Kathmandu in the 1950s, there has been a long tradition of expatriates who have made Nepal their home to launch restaurants.

Takeshi Okewara is just the latest. The only difference is that Takeshi doesn't consider himself an expat, he is a Nepali through and through. His parents came here over 30 years ago and decided to stay, Takeshi was born in Nepal and considers this his homeland. He went off to the University of Vermont in the United States and graduated in architecture but there was something pulling him back to Kathmandu.

When he started working as an architect, he realised that it wasn't quite what he wanted to do. "I realised that being an architect I would be hobnobbing with the rich, I wanted to do something that would bring me in contact with the ordinary people," says Takeshi in remarkably colloquial Nepali.

Ever since Aka Restaurant opened up at the Sanchaya Kosh Building in Pulchok last year, it was been an immediate hit. The prices are just right, it is spacious and clean, the atmosphere is casual and relaxed. (We should know, we all eat there.) Office workers from the nearby UN building, NGO-wallas, diplomats and journalists all hang out at Aka like us.

This is one restaurant that you could say doesn't have class and it wouldn't be an insult. "I want to turn this into a classless public place where everyone is welcome," says 32-year-old Takeshi. The experience gained working in Japanese and Italian restaurants in the United States has stood him in good stead.

Aka is not a Japanese restaurant, Takeshi hastens to point out, it is global cuisine with American-style sandwiches, Nepali momos and Japanese full courses. Takeshi makes a modest income from the restaurant that allows him to live frugally in a country he has come to regard as home. "I feel very comfortable in Nepal, it is quite similar to Japan because it's easy to make friends," he explains.

Naresh Newar