Le Sherpa, NEW! - Nepali Times

PICS: MARCO POLO

Listing a menu in French and slapping on a French article to 'Sherpa' does not a French restaurant make. The only thing that makes Le Sherpa forcibly fran�ais is its ridiculous offering of Dom P�rignon at Rs 27,750 (sans tax). The latest tenant at Ramalaya in Lazimpat needs to revamp or is likely to face eviction.

Sherpa, �coutez-moi:

Tip #1. Get an egg timer. Your slatted wooden skylight and open-air court summon a perfect date for a balmy summer's night; your heat lamps and fire pit keep us winter proof and your gar�ons (et vos filles) are eager to serve. But an inviting atmosphere and pleasant service however necessary are not sufficient. Even though we were the only patrons at the time of review, the turnaround from kitchen to table for two plates took half an hour.

Tip #2. Say cheese. Once our order had arrived, at that point anything would have sated our appetites. Sadly, the ham and cheese cr�pe was subpar and lacking in fromage. Google 'b�chamel'.

Tip #3. Go fish. Save for the white wine sauce, the gourmandises de l'ocean (with a title that could only tease) was a letdown. Overcooked, the sole fish and tiger prawns were rubbery. Although not listed as a pasta dish, much to our surprise, it came with a nest of plain linguini. At Rs 815, as the French would say, "Quelle arnaque!"

Tip #4. Burn, b�b�, burn. Surely, a traditional French sweet like a mousse au chocolat or a tarte au citron would redeem Le cher Sherpa. Perhaps, we made the wrong choice. The cr�me brul�e consisted of an uneven, grainy top, a starchy custard and an unpleasant aftertaste. The ultimate litmus test to a well-torched cr�me brul�e: take a spoon and gently tap the caramelized surface. If it cracks, parfait! If it cuts through without a hitch, it isn't brul�e.

Tip #5. 'Reservez' s'il vous pla�t. Le Sherpa, do yourself a favor and reserve a table at D�lices de France in Thamel or Chez Caroline or Sol at Babar Mahal Revisited for a course or two in French.

North on Lazimpat pass the Shangri-la Hotel on your left, and turn right into Ramalaya

1. KTM Foodie
As a European� Ex-Pat in Kathmandu and� someone who has had several meals at Le Sherpa, I was a little surprised by the rather humiliating tone a certain 'Marco Polo' takes in it's review of this restaurant. And all the more surprising Nepali Times allowed something of this immature nature run. � The only attempt at constructive� criticism is to visit 2 other "French" restaurants in Kathmandu. That comes to me more as an advertisement for those 2 establishments than a constructive criticism for the one being reviewed. Shameful and vindictive, Marco Polo.

Posted on: 10 DEC 2011 | 2:39 PM NST

2. Karma T. Nyangmi
"A fool doth think he is wise but a wise man knows himself to be a fool" goes a certain Bard in one of his plays. Being in a field that requires a much more intense specialization than most, I'd say no one can claim themselves an expert in any field unless they've surpassed the 10,000 hour rule. Marco Pollo here certainly has no idea what he/she is ranting about in terms of French cuisine. Methinks it is the price that has irked his/her taste buds rather than the food itself. Grow up and be a little more unconventional and view the general picture as a whole where French food is not limited to 2-3 dishes that you sampled...That too, the most basic of dishes instead of tongue twitching specialties like escargots and foie gras. Are you kidding me? Any well-reputed foodie understands the history behind the dishes of their specialization and know that the cuisine in ethnic restaurants are often catered towards the taste buds of the local population! The chinese food that Nepalese and Indians are accustomed to are NOT how the mainland Chinese prepare theirs. Even momos, an export of Tibet is prepared with a whole array of different spices by the folks in Nepal...Food as we know evolves to suit the native population! It's amusing and highly stupendous when one begins expecting to taste REAL authentic 100% French cuisine half a world away when the ONLY place you can possibly find it is in the small towns of France far flung from Paris. Even Daniel here in NYC (considered by many as the Mecca of French cuisine) infuse their dishes with a more Yankee taste in mind by making it a little more unconventional that suits the contemporary fad of today/s fusion cuisine...And before I forget, the price for a similar dish is about 7 times more than the Rs. 815 you're crying about.

All in all, a distasteful review where I believe Marco Pollo needs to stick to reviewing momo, thukpa. alu dum and other Nepalese delights instead of trying to impress the Nepali Times readers who know as much about food (or even more it seems). The silent majority, we readers do have our say at times!

Karma T. Nyangmi

NYC

Posted on: 13 DEC 2011 | 9:17 PM NST

3. karma T. Nyangmi
My previous feedback did not appear on the "comment" field...Censored? Nepal, a commie state truly has a commie leading newsletter at it's helm, or is it? Truly depressing that this atrocity of suppressing reader comments is still being trodden on at this high a level! A sad day indeed to find out that it's blatant activism and NOT journalism that is published as fodder for the masses!

I've lost faith in this newsletter once and for all. Continue your censoring ways!!

Karma T. Nyangmi

NYC

Posted on: 13 DEC 2011 | 9:30 PM NST

4. Michelle Mitterand
Oh la la - Marco Polo is more like Marco hollow,i.e., empty. I love the food at Le Sherpa, and I am French. May be Marco Polo has eaten too many free lunches for the sake of review. The least you can do is encourage a new business. You could have kept your rude comments out of the public. I would never invite you to my place. You are a bad reviewer, you should be replaced by someone more competent.

Posted on: 13 DEC 2011 | 1:45 AM NST

5. reader
manparena ta manparena. ram ram! leave the man alone, he has the right to his opinion as do you. karma might have wished his second rant wasn't published in the end...and michelle, i believe NT's food reviewers pay for their meals. new businesses don't need to be encouraged just because!

Posted on: 14 DEC 2011 | 6:56 PM NST

6. here n there
Change the restaurant name to La Sherpa - no more fuss?

Posted on: 15 DEC 2011 | 5:45 PM NST

7. koji
Amusing review! Even more amusing comments!

I am pretty sure that everybody knows that a review is one person's opinion, that it is a snapshot of what came out of the kitchen on a certain day, and that you should never take one review at face value and search around for second or third opinions.

@Michelle - how is this not encouraging a new business? Have you never been to a restaurant where certain things were not up to scratch, and then left politely saying it was delicious vowing never to return? (Possibly not I guess.) Le Sherpa got some free (if public) feedback. If they fix those small things (I am 100% sure they will), then surely the future looks rosy - the location is gorgeous, the waiting staff great, and there is easy parking.

And should a crï¿½me brulï¿½e not crack under the surface of a spoon as pointed out?

@karma - I believe comments are moderated (and not instantly) due to the astonishingly high level of ad hominem attacks on authors and editor, as your second comment reveals. Have a nice day.

Posted on: 18 DEC 2011 | 5:48 PM NST