Kasi - Nepali Times

PICS: RUBY TUESDAY

The restaurants I find toughest to review are not those that are awful or really good, but those in-betweens that I don't want to slam but don't offer much to write about either. Kasi falls into this mediocre category.

It is rather difficult to find the restaurant as you have to enter a tiny alley next to the Benetton shop and walk up three flights of stairs to get to it. There is a large banner to indicate that Kasi is situated somewhere in the vicinity, but there are no signs, and no arrows to pinpoint its exact location.

Kasi is spread out over a large terrace overlooking Phora Darbar and provides a gorgeous view of Nagarjun hill. It would have been more appropriate to name the place 'kausi'(meaning terrace) instead.

The joint is suited for long lazy afternoons spent basking in the sun rather than late on a chilly winter evening, which is when we were there. The waiters ask if they can 'bring you fire' (their words, not mine), and I definitely recommend taking them up on their offer.

The food at Kasi is predominantly Newari, with the usual suspects: beaten rice, soybeans, and lots and lots of meat (ears, tongues, brain, intestines, and stomach all feature prominently on the menu). I decided to take the safe route and ordered fried vegetable momos (Rs 100) and Mustang Alu (Rs 100) to start off my evening.

The momos were ok, the Mustang Alu was delicious. The waiter had recommended the dish to us saying that it was a specialty as the potatoes are actually bought from Mustang. The dish is quite simple: chunks of parboiled potatoes coated with spices and fried with spring onions and garlic. The outside had a light crispiness to it that encased the soft, almost buttery smoothness of pure luscious starch inside. It was the high point of our meal.

The egg wo (Rs 70), a patty of ground lentil with an egg on it, was crusty on the outside and good. The samay baji set (Rs 250) comes with beaten rice, potatoes, spinach, a boiled egg, fish, choila (marinated and grilled bits of chicken), and alu tama. They say that in the days of yore, prospective Newari brides were selected on their ability to make Alu Tama. This broth of potatoes, soya beans and bamboo shoots would reveal the personality of the bride. Well if that belief is anything to go by, the cook at Kasi is adequate, but insipid and boring.

The food is very reasonable and so are the drinks. Kasi regularly puts together music shows and soirees and the atmosphere is perfect for that, sipping a glass of red wine and listening to good music. It's also a good place to disappear for a quiet date. Having open spaces in Kathmandu is always an added bonus, albeit the only way to enjoy the space is to travel up to roof tops. It is for these reasons that Kasi will likely be around for a good number of years.

GOOGLE MAPS
How to get there: In Darbar Marg, look out for Benetton shoe shop. On the left of it is a small alley, enter the building right at the back and walk up three flights of stairs.
(01)4220787

1. Ramprasad

Dear author "Kasi" is newari for 'Kausi'...I hope you didn' take it for a mispelled 'Khasi'....

Posted on: 30 NOV 2012 | 2:11 PM NST

2. Suresh Manandhar
Throughout the review, it never occurred to me that the name "kasi" could actually be pronounced "kasi" like Ramprasad said, I thought, it was more like "kaasi". We have this difficulty with many nepali/newari words when we we have to write them english.

Posted on: 01 DEC 2012 | 6:02 PM NST

3. Prabin Lal Joshi
Dear Ruby,

Thanks for the review, the name of the restaurant is "Ka'si" not Kasi and like Mr. Ramprasad said Ka'si is newari for Kausi. :)

Posted on: 04 DEC 2012 | 1:09 PM NST

4. Obviously!

Evidently, our expert food-loving author forgot to do a little research on the name itself. "Ka'si," as the above comments confirm, does mean "Kausi" in Newari, and is very appropriately fitting considering its location. I feel like all that the author had to do was, ask, and the owner or the chef would have loved to explain its meaning. I suggest the author that next time when you write, focus more on food, less on what kind of view one can see from the restaurant, since people go there to eat and enjoy food, obviously. Lastly, the Google Map shows a popular American Fast Food Chain, but what is surprising is that its name is printed: "KFC Restaurent." Well, should it have been spelled KFC Restaurant? Just saying!

Posted on: 05 DEC 2012 | 6:37 AM NST

5. Like Duh!!!
Next time you visit a restaurant and not restaurent (Obviously!), dear critic, please eat the food there tasting with your tongue and not your eyes, the spectacle for a view that the place offers, thinking with your skin (the thought which, of course, will not want to walk out of your A/Ced room/car or even office) and thenceforth opining about visiting a restro during the day time to sun bask leisurely to miss out on the rest of the highlights which you seemed to have missed to outline in your review, obviously! Not to forget mentioning about the architecture of the place, the designs, the sense of yore aura your senses draw up from your mediocre imagination of medieval yore era, and the contextually worked out apt events to captivate all of the visitors' 5 senses, with the very uncommon 6th sense. I may have been very bland in judging a hard "unbiased" critic based on one review unlike the place I may have visited a few times to know a bit better. :)

Posted on: 22 DEC 2012 | 1:00 AM NST