Food on the trek
On the Annapurna ciruit, we learned about the dal baht power. Our porters, carrying 30kg of stuff over the mountains with ease were fueled, nearly exclusively by dal baht – a dish of steamed rice served with lentils and often curried chicken or other sides.
On the Annapurna Circuit, each teahouse would have a rendition of this menu. Most mornings were some sort of porrige or omelette. Karen was astonished to see me voluntarily have a bowl of porriage after an entire childhood of verociously opposing porriage with screams and tantrums.
Most lunches and dinners would involve veg fried rice / veg fried noodles / veg friend potatoes, or dal baht.
The menu was quite consistent at most tea houses (although the prices increased and variety decreased the further into the trek we got).
On the trek, it was unsurprising to see yak burgers appear on menus after spending the day watching dozens grazing on the mountains. We were advised to avoid yak cheese if not melted as it can be “hard to digest.”
We hiked through a region with tons of apple orchards, and were able to sample apple cider and various apple treats
Not every culinary experience was great. This is the “cheese burger” that nearly broke Rachael. Just bits cheese on a bun. No burger. Devastating after a very long, exhausting day of hiking.
She eventually recovered, and was acquainted with some delicious deep-fried, sugar-soaked Nepalese pastries.
Mountain hydration
We sampled a variety of beverages while in Nepal. While on the trek, most of what I consumed was water, Fanta, and “hot ginger” (pieces of ginger in hot water with or without tea). When hiking at altitude, it is recommended that you reduce caffeine and avoid alcohol. This led to a serious Fanta habit, as we eschewed coke and coffee, but at every break, we were not able to resist the lure of neon orange sugar water.
Karen and I also got lightly hooked on “fruit chunks”
Kathmandu eats
There was more variety in Kathmandu. We started with a sample of dumplings.
We got to enjoy a delicious meal prepared by a local woman – this is the sort of traditional meal prepared for celebrations and special occasions.
And also meet her roof-top chickens.
Lassis of all varieties were sampled. Some delicious (banana) some very bad (apple).
Although, we did frequent DELICIOUS burgers and milkshakes at T’s your palate when we were craving unadventurous Western food (it’s all about balance and milkshakes).
Lovely Outliers 