The Five Best Restaurants in Bouddha for Shedra Students

 Are you new to the Shedra? Not having much money to spend? Have to study a lot?

Here comes a brief guide and recommendation to some nice places in Bouddha suitable for the average Shedra student, old time favorites and newly rising stars.

Double Dorje

5. Double Dorje:

            A cozy small restaurant, run by a sweet old Tibetan woman. It is known to tourists and is a place visited frequently by westerners since it has been recommended by various travel guides as a nice, cozy, local restaurant. Particularly in the evening in the winter, it becomes a great place to study, since unlike the other restaurants it is completely closed and inside. Thus the place stays warm and as long as there are no power cuts the ballon lamps create a warm and home-like atmosphere.

            Also if you wish to spend the afternoon there, it is known for its special home-made apple pie and masala tea for a very reasonable price. For lunch and dinner two dishes became especially cherished by many Shedra students the Swiss Farmers Special and Macaroni with Cheese.

            The Swiss Farmers Special is fried pasta mixed with potatoes, an egg, and lots of cheese on top.

Cheese Macaroni, is pasta mixed with a delicious cheese sauce and on the side some vegetables and garlic toast as well.

            For Non-Vegetarians many friends enjoyed eating the Buff Pizza. Although it doesn't come too close to a real pizza, its really tasty and cheap.

            On the downside, this place doesn't have wifi, the food takes a while to be prepared and the restaurant due to little space often becomes full.

Recommended Dishes:

-       For a cozy afternoon: Masala Tea and Apple Pie

-       Lunch & Dinner:

Vegetarian: Swiss Farmers Special, Cheese Macaroni,

Non-Vegetarian: Buff Pizza

Time to prepare food: 20 – 45 min.

Wifi: No

Plus: Reasonable Prices, Nice Service, Good Quality Food, Cozy Atmosphere, Warm in Winter

Minus: Long food preparation time, no wifi, often crowded

Maya Cafe

4. Maya Cafe:

            This is a newly opened restaurant in one of the back roads of bouddha stupa, behind Cafe Kaldi, near Chogye Trichen Rinpoche's Monastery. This restaurant and cafe is particularly nice for breakfast and tea in the afternoon, since the main part of the restaurant is in a garden.

            If you like to study and be a bit in nature, this is the place to go. On the bright side it also has a relatively fast internet connection. Particularly the variety of baked goods is highly recommended. For only 35 NRS you can get a delicious Apple Roll or a Chocolate Danish, cold or heated up. Together with some Masala tea, this becomes an excellent breakfast or afternoon snack. Also highly recommended are their home made cookies. Since the restaurant is connected to Cafe Kaldi, it also offers their coffee and drink menu. Thus, it is perfect if you like some fancy and tasty coffee and other drinks from time to time. Unfortunately other than the baked goods the food and drinks are a bit pricy and the waiters trained in a rather funny way, which can lead to a lot of misunderstandings or amusement on the side of the customer.

Recommended Dishes:

-       For a afternoon snack: Apple Roll or Chocolate Danish together with some coffee or tea from Cafe Kaldi, Vegtable Momos

Time to prepare food: 5 – 15 min.

Wifi: Yes and reasonable speed

Plus: Not crowded, the garden gives a bit of nature within Bouddha, tasty baked goods, good internet

Minus: A bit pricy for the regular dishes and drinks, funny waiters

White Dzambala

3. White Dzambala:

            Walking down Phulbari near Bouddha Stupa is the White Dzambala Restaurant. It is quite well known for its amazing chinese kitchen and frequently visited by many tibetans and monks. The main part of the restaurant is a cozy sitting area of tea tables surrounded by sitting cushions. It has a huge variety of various dishes which are made very well and tasty. You could say the whole place is run almost single handedly by a waitress called Chöden and she probably deserves the medal of best waiter / waitress in whole of Bouddha, if not whole of Kathmandu. She is fluent in english and is very helpful. If you ever get lost in the vast selection of various dishes, she is also very good in making suggestions and helping you in your choice. Thus without any problems, unlike in any other Nepali Restaurant, one can get exactly what one has ordered. The food is delivered fast and thus, all in all, it becomes the perfect place for a nice lunch or dinner, even if one has only an hour lunch break. It is best to go with some friends and order various dishes together, since most of the dishes are laid out to be shared with others.

            On the downside, the place uses MSG or tasting powder to flavor the food if one doesn't ask for it to be removed. The internet connection is very slow and the prices of most of the dishes are a bit higher, yet not very expensive.

Recommended Dishes:

-       For lunch and dinner:

Vegetarian: Fried green beens, Home Style Tofu, Sweet and Sour Tofu, Fried Egg and Tomatoes, Braised Eggplant

Non-Vegetarian: Buff Noodle Soup / Tukpa (wish is very tasty!), Fried Chicken with mixed vegetables, Fried Buff with green vegetables, Sweet and Sour Chicken

Time to prepare food: 10 – 15 min.

Wifi: Yes, but slow

Plus: Delicious chinese food, nice sitting areas, good waitress

Minus: Dishes are a bit more expensive, slow internet connection, sometimes crowded

Chef Link

2. Chef Link:

            Chef Link is also a newly opened restaurant just around the corner of our school, opposite of the entrance gate to Tharlam Guest House. The owner of the restaurant worked in various hotels around the world before. The restaurants stands out for its cleanliness and well prepared dishes. You can eat even the salad without any second thought. The food is prepared quickly and Shedra students get a discount of 15 % on all dishes. Thus it becomes the cheapest restaurant of the recommended five. Particularly notable is that you have a variety of various western fast food dishes that are well made, although unfortunately, often non-vegetarian. Thus the french fries are probably the best you can find in Bouddha. Otherwise if you are eating meat, the Chef Grilled Sandwich, Road Runner, and Fish and Chips are highly recommended. In the back of the restaurant is a small garden sitting area that gives one a more quite space to eat and study. Due to its short walking distance from the Shedra, the discount for Shedra students and the quickly prepared dishes, it is the ideal place to eat out in a short lunch break.

Recommended Dishes:

-       For lunch and dinner:

Vegetarian: French Fries, Thali Set Vegetarian, Malai Kofta Curry or Palak Paneer with Rice or Roti on the side.

Non-Vegetarian: Road Runner, Chicken Burger, Chef Grilled Sandwich, Fish and Chips

Time to prepare food: 10 – 15 min.

Wifi: Yes, but slow

Plus: Great and Cheap Food, very clean, food comes in no time

Minus: slow wifi, not so much quite space to study

Toast Bakery

1. Toast Bakery:

            This is probably the most known and visited restaurants by Shedra students. It is run by Nir, an open and warmhearted Nepali, who uses the extra money from the restaurant for supporting children and projects in small remote villages of Nepal. It has a cozy sitting area inside and outside and is the optimal place to gather with friends and study. The quality of the food is very good and it has a wide selection of various very tasty dishes. The waiters are friendly and happy to engage in casual conversations and are open to prepare any special orders that are not on the menu. Whether for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, or dinner, this restaurant is a good choice to go. Not only are the various dishes quite tasty, but the restaurant also offers various baked goods and different kinds of special cheeses, even Parmesan! In the winter, Nir places heaters in the inside part of the restaurant, thus at any time this is a good place to study and eat. Most ordered all time favorite dishes are probably the Spinach Cheese Burger, and Cheese Been Burrito. This is a strong plus for anyone who is vegetarian. On the downside, the orders take a bit longer and the waiters are a bit sleepy.

Recommended Dishes:

-       Lunch and Dinner:

Vegetarian:  Spinach Cheese Burger, Cheese Been Burrito, Vegetable Cheese Sandwich, Cheese Potato Momos

Non-Vegetarian: Chicken Vegetable Enchilada, Bolognaise Lasagne, Roasted Chicken, Cordon Bleu

-       Afternoon: Ask for the freshly made cake, filter coffee and Tea,

Time to prepare food: 15 – 40 min.

Wifi: Yes, ok

Plus: Great Food, reasonable prices, nice atmosphere, good place to study at all times

Minus: orders take a bit longer, waiters a bit sleepy

~Stefan from Germany