It is not often that do you get to go to a restaurant which is nearly 40 years old. I first came across Rum Doodle when I overheard a couple of mountaineers talk about it and how it’s associated with Everest summiteers. To check out what it was about, I went there myself.
The restaurant opened its doors in 1979 in Kathmandu’s tourist hub Thamel. But after the 2015 earthquake, the owners decided to move to a safer place two years ago. The new space in Naxal now has a garden and enough seats for around 200 people. It is also close to Kathmandu’s prime residential areas.
The restaurant is named after the world’s highest mountain, the 40,000½ft Mt Rum Doodle (as depicted by WE Bowman, the author of The Ascent of Rum Doodle, a ‘spoof’ of serious mountaineering books).
As I enter the place, the first thing that catches my eye are the ‘footprints’ that hang from the ceiling–all of which have a story to tell. These, according to the owner, were left by travellers who visited the restaurant over the years and left something behind for others to learn about their experiences.
On the walls are square wooden boxes which are filled with signatures of those who have summited Everest over the years. This wall is to the climbers of the Himalayas what the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ is to the actors. The first signature on the wall of fame was that of Sir Edmund Hillary.
They also have a register that keeps track of every summiteer that has climbed Everest. That’s not it, each climber gets free food for life.
As I wander the place reading the messages written on the footprints, the food arrives. As I was famished I asked for the chicken pizza, the chicken sizzler, and the pork chops.
The pizza was severed on a Nanglo (a flat round woven tray made up of bamboo). The crust was thin and had tomato sauce which was full of flavours. Even though it wasn’t cooked in the wood fire, it tasted similar minus the smoky flavour.
The sizzler came with roasted chicken, potato wedges, mushroom sauce and a side portion of fresh vegetables. The chicken was tender and the mushroom sauce complimented the dish as it added flavour to the chicken.
The last dish to come out was the pork chops as it is one of the perfect parcels of proteins known to man, possessing a rich intense flavour. The meat was cut from the back section of the hog and includes a piece of loin and tenderloin connected by a T-shaped bone. The dish was not overcooked was delicious was full of flavour especially the meat which was attached to the bone.
The new place lacks history but has tried to keep its essence through the wall of fame and the footprints on the ceiling.
Even though it’s not the same place as it used to be, I still felt that I was in the company of heroes who have conquered the highest mountain in the world.
