PICS: TAVISH Z SHRESTHA

The familiar is often ignored for the novelty of the new. This realisation was brought anew last night when after an evening of trick-or-treating, my six-year-old pipes up and says he wants to eat dinner at Buzz. Yes Buzz, the restaurant we have been to so often, but for some reason I hadn't reviewed it yet.

We love Buzz at our house, its proximity being a big reason, but definitely not the only one. The food is good and wholesome, nothing to rave about but consistently good. Also because it is set in a courtyard, it is open and allows the children some space to move around. And most importantly the place exudes comfort and acceptance and while being child-friendly, it is thankfully not a 'family restaurant'. Family restaurants in Kathmandu for some reason demand garishly coloured walls and a standard fare of soggy fries and chicken momos.

To be fair, Buzz does have fries on its menu, but here they are fresh with a bite to them, and there are chicken momos too, though I haven't tasted them yet. The food at Buzz is definitely all grown up.

We started our mother-son dinner with Golden Fried Prawns (Rs 450), a delectable start to our meal. We continued with the Crunchy Pork (Rs 260) which is prepared with galangal and lemon grass and honey, leading to a delightful mish mash of incredible flavours. We then moved on to the Grilled Chicken Wrap (Rs 280) that comes with fries and a small helping of fresh salad. The chicken is beautifully seasoned and softly grilled so that it retains its moisture and the resulting fare is light and appetising.

The Chicken Mongolian Noodles (Rs 260) is a filling plate of stir fried flat noodles with fresh vegetables and chunks of marinated chicken, garnished with sliced green chillies and served with fresh chutney of tomatoes and Szechuan peppers. At Buzz, they serve meals, not bite sized pretty food on a plate, but meals, and this is one of the things that makes Buzz such a popular haunt: good food at affordable prices.

We finished our meal with the only dessert on offer- chocolate brownie with ice cream and hot fudge sauce (Rs 220). What can I say but the brownie was fresh, the ice cream cold and the sauce hot. Overall, simply delicious.

The restaurant also serves a variety of cocktails and mocktails and its version of Thai food is pretty good. Buzz has turned into a joint that people return to over and over again which says a lot about the place and the food it serves.

GOOGLE MAPS

How to get there: Walk down the lane from the original Bhat Bhateni Supermarket, 100 metres or so beyond the Chinese Embassy, a brown gate on the left leads to Buzz Restaurant and Bar. (01)4429903