Free Personal Cooking Class

We have been having a great time here in Pokhara! Our hotel is wonderful, hence the name Lake View Resort. It truly is a resort.

One of the first things we did the evening we pulled in to town was dinner out. We went with Job, Bethany and Ian to a place called Kabob King. It's a little hole in the wall place that is "famous for" (meaning Job couldn't stop talking about it) their hot momo. Momo is a steamed dumpling from Tibet that has become very popular in Nepal, you can get it at most restaurants.

Now, imagine that with vegetables and chicken inside smothered in a hot sauce with grilled peppers and onions. That is hot momo. After our third trip to Kabob King for hot momo in four days I asked nonchalantly if he would teach me how to make it. To my surprise he seemed pleased and told me to come back the next day. Now in Nepal everyone is VERY polite, never wanting to offend. So I went the next day, not knowing if he was serious, or just being polite. To my surprise he was actually waiting for me.

I walked in to the back kitchen which looks nothing like the "hospital sterile" restaurants in America. My first observation, it was HOT. He joked with me about it being hot and asked if it was okay. Well of course it was, I was in Nepal about to get my first cooking lesson from a chef who's been cooking for over 40 years. Not to mention he was going to teach me how to make Jacks new favorite food.

I furiously took notes as he showed me each step. Chicken, carrots, cabbage, onions, garlic, etc. Then we practiced rolling the momo. Each one he did looked exactly like the photo above. Mine however... well they would still taste the same. (He said I could come back and practice as many times as I wanted while I was here, just rolling dough into the dough) The rest of the process, well lets just say he doesn't want me to share it with too many people. After an hour we had a full dish of hot momo, and my shirt was soaked through with sweat. He laughed a little at the amount of sweating dripping from me. I gotta say I get that one from my dad. Oh, and this would be one of his favorite foods too if he had the chance to try it. I wish I could go home and make him some.

This was one of the coolest experiences of my life! It was relationship building, educational, a chance to talk about what we're doing in Nepal, and a time to laugh at the language barrier. I wouldn't trade that for anything!