Bhutan: A super-duper stupa and the Bhutan Kitchen

At the end of a frantic day whizzing around Thimpu, I walked to the national memorial choeten, or stupa at the southern end of the town before sunset. People were circumambulating (I had to look that one up - it  means the act of moving around a sacred object), while a group of elderly ladies dipped bread given by visitors into hot drinks. Other women had jobs looking after each of the large prayer wheels.

I needed food. Based upon a local recommendation, I headed to the ‘Bhutan Kitchen’ for dinner. With only one other customer in the huge restaurant, it seemed rather curious to be asked if I had a reservation, but I took a seat at one of the knee-high tables in the dimly-lit room.

After drinking the complementary rice wine and sipping a lukewarm Druk 11000, a large number of dishes from the set menu were brought to the table: egg and cheese (very cheesy), boiled potatoes (nice), beef with rice noodles (very chewy meat), cabbage, chilli, cheese and mushroom (slightly odd combination), seaweed soup (looked like frothy phlegm) and two mountains of red and white rice. The accompanying dish of ezay was more chunky than the paste served in the hotel the other night. The meal certainly needed the additional flavour. The whole thing was enough for a family of four. I did my best.