Good on light Stuff[Thamel restaurant]

This was a commentary on a restaurant  review published in The Kathmandu Post.

Located in the heart of Thamel, Zaika is a restaurant with an innovative menu and a distinct style of architecture that will surely please even the most discerning of diners.

'Innovative' menu? Either  too expensive or interesting. Since it's in Thamel, definitely expensive, but there should definitely be rather bob-traditional items on the menu

Beautifully designed, Zaika interprets traditional Newari architecture with the modern, with its owner, Prakash Rana, individually choosing the fusion to give the restaurant a different ambience. The wooden flooring contrasted with bright orange on the walls makes the place even more attractive.

The oragey-wood look seems to have swept the place. Almost all the restaurants that aspire to be 'hip' in Thamel and Jhonche(Freak Streat for those freaks who dont want to forget a bygone era). Orange-and-wood look probably is interesting in this case though.

Although a large place, Zaika is divided into several parts, and every part has something new in style—little traditional masks are hung up on the huge wooden wall in one part of the restaurant, while the other parts are adorned by paintings depicting Newari culture and murals of temples.

Ooh, a large place in Thamel? I am already impressed. And the division of the restaurant into several 'parts' makes it even more appealing. Ambiance is good, so. The newari look's probably not too forced too, tiny lamps in cute little lamps can make even a hostel look appealing (hostels should dare to try that out.It's a new idea, after all). So, if you want to go to an indoor place in Thamel, this sounds like a god idea--until now.

Serving Indian, Chinese, Continental and Nepali snacks, the menu of Zaika incorporates traditional classic dishes and original new cuisines with a focus on both eastern as well as western flavours. Rana says the specialities of his restaurant are the Russian Salad, Tandoori Chicken, and its wide variety of sandwiches.

The restaurant is different in its presentation and taste of the cuisines from any other similar place. The Reshami Kababs with cheese toppings are sweet and juicy—just as succulent as they are meant to be. The Zaika Special Pizza, with its toppings of chicken, egg, and tuna, was reminiscent of the Newari dish Chatamari; however, it tasted as a pizza should taste. But the crème de la crème of the restaurant was the Chicken Butter Masala, its onion gravy and a cream serving on the top making it irresistible. Likewise, the Irani Naan was equally delicious, but the best part about the bread was the cashew nuts and cherry toppings.

Mmm...wide variety of sandwiches... It's a pity they dont have momos(so that 'innovative' was  intended for NO MOMOS HERE!!!) but 'a wide variety of sandwiches' does sound yummy, though I totally glossed over the Tandoori and Russian Salad. Every restaurant in Kathmandu claims to have the 'Best Tandoori/Chicken around' and on top of that, those who want to display finesse add some exotic-sounding names to the menu.

OKayy, now the description of Pizza and Kebab have sold me.  Zaika is probably a place to be even if only to try the 'innovative' items on the menu. One should be prepared though-- innovation is frequently very expensive, even by  Thamel's standards.