Something is peculiarly exciting in a new restaurant where large portraits of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, and Mumtaz, his wife, greet you. This newly-opened fine dining place--Mela Restaurant and Bar at Lainchour--is beautifully designed and comes across at first glance as an amalgam of various styles of architecture and design.
I am sure it was said in all good humor, but do Nepalis really find dining in front of (tyrannical) Kings and Queens particularly exciting, specially one like Shahjahan who is up there in the top list of the Mughal emperors who killed the most people. But get the idea--Mela is an Indian restaurant with Indian theme, but gets confused with all the decorations, and forms a 'fusion'.
A mix of Mughal with a touch of traditional Newari architecture and design, Mela is bright and beautiful, with influences from across Asia. The owner, Pramod Jaiswal, wanted to bring alive the Mughal era of the past, but then rethought his decision, and fused a bit of Indian with the Newari style to give the place a different feel. Although a large place, it has been divided into several areas with private rooms for big families.
The bar is adorned with ghaitos from Bhaktapur and a wheel sits across the wall. Copper khakalos are suspended from the ceiling and this comes alive in the evening with the shadows playing around them.
A mix of Newari and Mughal? Hmmm, confusing decorations probably. Still, the word 'Bright' does strike a good chord...Nothing about the food or the service yet. Conclusion: it's not terribly exciting, and if you really have to write about the restaurant, it is a good idea to linger around the decorations, instead of talking about not-so-unusual food and service.
Serving mainly Mughlai and Indian cuisines with Nepali snacks, Mela is a welcome addition to enjoy Mughlai delicacies in the city. Its specialities being kebabs, biryanis, naans, and rotis, Mela has the largest variety of Afghani cuisine in town. Kebab Harabara is a vegetarian’s delight, with just one bite enough to get through to the succulent cashew nuts in between. Paneer Maharani, yet again a unique presentation of layers and layers of cottage cheese sliced into pyramidal shapes with butter masala gravy.
The Afghani Naan and the Rumali Roti were equally delicious, with cherries and cashew nuts spread on the top of the naan. This is an amazing treat for anybody who loves trying out pure Mughlai food.
Mela lives up to its name with a colourful atmosphere and multiple cuisines to lure you again and again.
'Mela is a welcome addition' is obviously a way to tell the readers that the place is no different from any other Indian Restaurant u=in town without losing the potential advertisement from the place. The piece mentions Afghani Naan and the Rumali Roti, which the place considers its specialties, are apparently pretty good(the writer of the original piece confirms this).
So, if you want to try Afghani Naan and Rumali Roti, go to this place. If you are near here go here. Else, there are better Indian restaurants out there.
The Kathmandu Post
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