Mini Garage Sale

As you may know, I moved into a 581 sq ft flat in September. Space has become an issue and I'm clearing off as many stuff as I can.

Below are some stuff I'm willing to let go off. Some of it belongs to a friend who is also willing to let go of some of her items.

Item 1

Fifty Shades of Grey Party Game (brand new) - RM145 

Contact number: +6 012 666 2974

Owner wrongly bought this game online.

Item 2

Fifty Shades of Grey - Red Room - Expansion Pack (brand new) - RM90

Contact number: +6 012 666 2974

Owner wrongly bought this game online.

Item 3

Portable steam iron - RM40
Contact number: +6 012 666 2974

In good working condition.
Picture obtained from internet.

Item 4

Caller ID Telephone - RM10

Contact: limseetyin@gmail.com

In good working condition.

Item 5 (SOLD)

Old cartridge - RM 1 each

Contact: limseetyin@gmail.com

Behold the cartridge, a musical storage device before CDs and casette tapes were invented.

Good for collectors of vintage items or anyone wanting a piece of musical history.

Item 6 (SOLD)

Vintage amplifier - RM10

Contact: limseetyin@gmail.com

Good for collectors of old audio system.

You won't find another amplifier like this anymore :-)

Spice Garden Restaurant in Kathmandu

During our stay in Kathmandu, someone recommended us to dine at Spice Garden. 

It turned out that the food was so good I told myself that the establishment deserves a good blog post.

Spice Garden is located on the first floor of Trekkers Home in Thamel. Both establishments are independently operated of each other.

My apologies for the poor picture. Maybe its time to get a new camera.

Entrance to the restaurant.

The interior is clean and comfortable. 

Now comes the food :-)

After dining the first time in Spice Garden, we returned twice :-) 

This is what we had the first time we dined there:

Chicken Curry (Boneless chicken cooked in onion, tomato gravy and a touch of cashewnut paste).

 Chicken Butter Masala (Boneless chicken fillet simmered in a fresh creamy mild sauce and a touch of cashewnut paste).

We had rice with those two curries and finished the whole helping.

During our second time dining at Spice Garden, we wanted to try their naan which was highly recommended by Raj, our Nepali friend.

Here is what we ordered:

 Chicken Momo.

Paneer-Pakora (Cottage cheese marinated with besan cooked in oil and served with mint sauce).

Since the naan was highly recommended we ordered Garlic Naan and Butter Naan.

The naan portion was huge! We couldn't finish both the naan. So in typical Malaysian style, we asked to 'tapau' it The server went the extra mile to heat up the naan and wrapped it in aluminium foil for us to 'tapau'. 

What is a naan without dipping it in gravy. So we odered this spicy dish to go with our naan:

Chicken tikka masala (Tandoori chicken fillet with tomatoes, capsicum, onion, fresh coriander and a touch of cashewnut paste).

On our last day in Kathmandu, we decided to have brunch in Spice Garden before catching our flight back to Kuala Lumpur.

This time Spice Garden really lived up to its name as the best place to dine in Thamel (in my humble opinion).

We ordered the Teen Parkarki set which was really value for money since there're 3 curries in the set.

Teen Parkarki Non-Vegetarian Set: Chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry, rice, salad, papad, naan/roti, tandoori leg and dessert. All this for only Rs 355. My mouth and wallet was smiling :-)

I would definitely return to Spice Garden the next time I'm back in Kathmandu.

Satkar Restaurant in Kathmandu

During our last few days in Kathmandu, we had the privilege of dining at Satkar Restaurant.

The restaurant is conveniently located in Thamel, Kathmandu which is walking distance from Hotel Family Home where we were hibernating (read: recovering) for 2 days after our trek to Annapurna Base Camp.

 Satkar Restaurant is in a typical Nepali style house. The two folks are Angie and Raj (our host). I had to cross the road to snap this pic because the building was too big. And yet, my viewfinder still could not capture the entire building.

As you can see from the bunting, one of Satkar Restaurant's speciality is its Nepali Thali Set.

 We had pre-dinner cocktails in the lovely garden inside while waiting for Raj's friend to arrive.

Soon we moved to the first floor for dinner so that we could watch the traditional Nepali dances which are performed every night.

Now comes the food :-)

We ordered the Non-Vegetarian Nepali Thali Set which consists of Starters, Main Course, Dessert and Tea/Coffee.

Starters

Clockwise:

• Alu Tareko (Fried potatoe)
• Momo (Steamed dumpling stuffed with minced chicken)

Not in photo:

• Bhatamas Sandheko (Marinated roasted soyabeans)
• Suruwa (Nepali soup)

My favourite is the Momo. 

You see, all throughout my experiences dining in Nepal I've never tasted a good Momo until I came to Satkar Restaurant. Their chicken filing was extremely flavourful and tasty, unlike the other Momo's I've had before. After tasting Satkar's Momo I was motivated to order Momo again from other establishments. 

The Bhatamas Sandheko (roasted soyabean) was crunchy and had a unique taste. I loved it too!

Main Course

Hold your breath for the main course:

Clockwise:

• Sada Bhuja (Basmati Rice)
• Achar (Homemade pickles) 
• Bandel Tareko (Wild boar which is boiled, fried sautéed and mixed with local spices)
• Saag (Seasonal fresh green leaves boiled and sautéed with spices)
• MisMas Tarkari (Seasonal mixed vegetables cooked in a local style)
• Kukhura Ko Ledo (Rich gravy chicken)
• Kalo Dal (Lentils prepared in an iron pot with heated purified butter and garnished with herbs)

This was the first time I had wild boar in Nepal and it was a pleasant surprise. Didn't know that wild boar meat is available in Nepal :-)

Anyway, the whole main course was nothing to shout about. I've eaten better thali sets in other simpler establishments.


Dessert

Dessert was a simple Shikarni which is thick yoghurt mixed with dried nuts and cinnamon.

Again, this dessert is nothing to shout about. It's just the usual yoghurt that can be found in the stores. Moreover I didn't find any dried nuts in this particular yoghurt and I didn't get any taste of cinnamon either.


Conclusion

Apart from the Starters (which I loved!), the rest of the dishes were nothing to shout about.

Prices are also rather expensive - This Non-Vegetarian Nepali Thali Set costs Rs 895 + 10% Service Charge.

I can get more delicious thakali sets in other establishments for a fraction of that price. But I guess we're paying for the authentic Nepali ambience of the restaurant.

In conclusion, if you want to dine and experience an authentic Nepali restaurant complete with traditional dances, then come to Satkar Restaurant. But if you're coming for the food, then you're better off dining elsewhere.