The saying 'my eyes were bigger than my stomach' takes on a whole new meaning when you land in Southeast Asia. While Thailand takes the cake in this category, the variety of ethnic cuisines available in Nepal isn't far behind. For the budget traveler, food can become your biggest downfall. When browsing the menus of restaurants along the chaotic streets of Kathmandu or the tourist town of Pokhara, I judge the relative expensivness based on the price of beer and Mo-Mo's- a Nepalese style of dumping brought from Tibet.
I thought after a stint at Dim Sum Heaven in Philadelphia that I'd retired from the dumpling game, having tried them steamed, fried, pan-seared, stuffed, puffed, and dipped from various regions of the world. Mo-mo's are pockets of dough neatly braided and traditionally filled with julienne veggies, such as carrots, cabbage, peppers, and onion, or with meats, such as chicken, beef, pork, yak, or water buffalo. The best mo-mo's are usually juicy, not oily, wet, or doughy, with the stuffing seasoned ever so lightly with herbs and spices such as garlic, ginger, or cilantro. Personally, what keeps me dipping away is the sauce. Oh- the sauce! You can find them served alongside creamy masalas, ketchup, chili sauce, soy sauce, or chutney.
My parents will read this now and laugh becuase I was the pickiest of the picky, not touching meat or vegetables voluntarily until college (only in America!). It was even so bad that as a child my mother had to take me to the doctors and report that I wouldn't eat anything but peanut butter sandwiches. His response? Let her- at least peanut butter would help me gain some weight. And so began my enabled pickiness. Mom and Dad, sorry to have been such a difficult child, but at least I found my way and saw that food is something to love not fear, for with cuisine is culture, is understanding. Sometimes it just takes people a minute to value what's in front of their faces. So while my problem used to be a narrow-minded stomach, now it's mo-mo's and the hankering to try every dish on a menu.
