A travelogue is never complete without a reference to the food, customs and the lifestyle of the native dwellers. A country stands out from the rest because of its people, their habits, and food peculiar only to them.
The husband and I are not extremely adventurous in the food territory but we certainly like to have a taste of the local flavour wherever we go. The husband being a foodie helps the cause, of course. At the first opportunity, we placed an order for a 'datshi' which is a gravy based dish that the Bhutanese eat with rice
The national dish is called 'Ema Datshi' and is basically green chillies in a cheese-based gravy. Kewa Datshi is similar where the chillies are replaced with potatoes. We tried Ema Datshi at our Hotel in Phuentsholing. Sadly, we could not relish it. I did not like the cheesy taste and the chillies were too hot to enjoy. We later tried the Kewa Datshi at Paro and did find it good.
In my observation, the Bhutanese use a lot of cheese and butter (perhaps due to the abundance of cow's and yak's milk?) in their cuisine which by the way isn't too varied (at least for the vegetarians). There's Suja, a tea variant that's mostly butter, tea leaves, salt and a little milk. They say that such a combination is suited for higher altitudes. Hmm. We weren't gutsy enough to try it out.
Bhutanese mostly eat red rice. This, we tried at the cafeteria on the way to Tiger's Nest Monastery at Paro. Contrary to our misgivings about red rice being heavy to digest, we loved it. It was served with our usual yellow dal and it made for a perfect combination.
Bhutanese are sweet people but seems like they aren't sweet loving people. Apart from not having a native specialty, the menu cards often had just a fruit cocktail or a single flavoured ice-cream (even that was never readily available) listed under the dessert section. It can be disappointing for sweet lovers like us because we craved for desserts after our meals and found that the hotels do not stock up even on ice-creams. Even the rare ones that were offered as a part of a buffet meal are Indian sweets like rasgulla and gulab jamun, only perhaps to conform to international standard practices.
We hear that the Bhutanese, instead, are habituated to consuming betel leaves after meals. Something we observed from their red-stained teeth. The small stores along the road also sold packets of Paan that are eaten with betel nuts, and pieces of dried coconut.
The service at Hotels, in general, is pretty slow. If you're habituated to the brisk manner you're served food at Indian restaurants or elsewhere, be prepared to pull all your reserves of patience and breathe in the fresh Bhutan air while you wait. Because you'll have to wait a lot. Especially, if you prefer the Ala-carte over the buffet.
It seemed to us that they are not used to catering to a full house and aren't staffed appropriately. Each order is taken as a separate request and is prepared from scratch after the order is placed. For the record, although the buffet spread does not have a lot of variety, the food here is quite tasty. Also, Indian food is easily available everywhere.
Tip: If there's a buffet spread, do not go for an Ala-carte, especially if you're hard pressed for time.
The Bhutanese are mostly simple, contented and soft-spoken people. Their faces radiate a sense of tranquility. As though reflecting off the benevolent Buddha who casts his abundant grace. In our limited interaction with the locals, we felt that they are a happy lot even as the younger crowd showed a keenness to visit and explore other countries.
A fun fact: The younger lot loves the Bollywood and the Hindi film music. In fact, our driver spoke good Hindi and he said he learned it all through Hindi movies. Interestingly, Bollywood films are not screened on the big screens and the youngsters rely on DVDs and the television to catch them all.
Bhutan is a clean country. Most tourist spots had toilet facilities and they were quite clean. Speaking of toilets, the hotels (barring the one at Thimpu) did not have the health faucet. If you're particular about such things, be mentally prepared.
Bhutan holds the reputation of being one of the safest countries in the world. In a place where the Gross National Happiness is considered and embodied in the constitution as the index of progress, this had to be a natural outcome, with the citizens having a high respect for the governing authorities, the laws and a reverential attitude towards their kings.
Bhutan is not yet enmeshed in the manic fad of development (a lot of which is a conscious decision on the part of the authorities) that recklessly throws away what is unique and relevant for a country and its people in pursuit of the contraptions of a more commercially developed economy. It could be seen as naive and short-sighted by some. However, in my opinion, it makes far more sense to design a roadmap that is sustainable and also relevant to the country's cultural and environmental values which may or may not be alike other economies.
The husband and I are not extremely adventurous in the food territory but we certainly like to have a taste of the local flavour wherever we go. The husband being a foodie helps the cause, of course. At the first opportunity, we placed an order for a 'datshi' which is a gravy based dish that the Bhutanese eat with rice
The national dish is called 'Ema Datshi' and is basically green chillies in a cheese-based gravy. Kewa Datshi is similar where the chillies are replaced with potatoes. We tried Ema Datshi at our Hotel in Phuentsholing. Sadly, we could not relish it. I did not like the cheesy taste and the chillies were too hot to enjoy. We later tried the Kewa Datshi at Paro and did find it good.
 |
| Picture Courtesy: By Bhutanese_hemadatsi_and_rice.JPG: ShashiBellamkondaderivative work: Thejinan (talk) - Bhutanese_hemadatsi_and_rice.JPG, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12628250 |
In my observation, the Bhutanese use a lot of cheese and butter (perhaps due to the abundance of cow's and yak's milk?) in their cuisine which by the way isn't too varied (at least for the vegetarians). There's Suja, a tea variant that's mostly butter, tea leaves, salt and a little milk. They say that such a combination is suited for higher altitudes. Hmm. We weren't gutsy enough to try it out.
Bhutanese mostly eat red rice. This, we tried at the cafeteria on the way to Tiger's Nest Monastery at Paro. Contrary to our misgivings about red rice being heavy to digest, we loved it. It was served with our usual yellow dal and it made for a perfect combination.
Bhutanese are sweet people but seems like they aren't sweet loving people. Apart from not having a native specialty, the menu cards often had just a fruit cocktail or a single flavoured ice-cream (even that was never readily available) listed under the dessert section. It can be disappointing for sweet lovers like us because we craved for desserts after our meals and found that the hotels do not stock up even on ice-creams. Even the rare ones that were offered as a part of a buffet meal are Indian sweets like rasgulla and gulab jamun, only perhaps to conform to international standard practices.
We hear that the Bhutanese, instead, are habituated to consuming betel leaves after meals. Something we observed from their red-stained teeth. The small stores along the road also sold packets of Paan that are eaten with betel nuts, and pieces of dried coconut.
The service at Hotels, in general, is pretty slow. If you're habituated to the brisk manner you're served food at Indian restaurants or elsewhere, be prepared to pull all your reserves of patience and breathe in the fresh Bhutan air while you wait. Because you'll have to wait a lot. Especially, if you prefer the Ala-carte over the buffet.
It seemed to us that they are not used to catering to a full house and aren't staffed appropriately. Each order is taken as a separate request and is prepared from scratch after the order is placed. For the record, although the buffet spread does not have a lot of variety, the food here is quite tasty. Also, Indian food is easily available everywhere.
Tip: If there's a buffet spread, do not go for an Ala-carte, especially if you're hard pressed for time.
The Bhutanese are mostly simple, contented and soft-spoken people. Their faces radiate a sense of tranquility. As though reflecting off the benevolent Buddha who casts his abundant grace. In our limited interaction with the locals, we felt that they are a happy lot even as the younger crowd showed a keenness to visit and explore other countries.
A fun fact: The younger lot loves the Bollywood and the Hindi film music. In fact, our driver spoke good Hindi and he said he learned it all through Hindi movies. Interestingly, Bollywood films are not screened on the big screens and the youngsters rely on DVDs and the television to catch them all.
Bhutan is a clean country. Most tourist spots had toilet facilities and they were quite clean. Speaking of toilets, the hotels (barring the one at Thimpu) did not have the health faucet. If you're particular about such things, be mentally prepared.
Bhutan holds the reputation of being one of the safest countries in the world. In a place where the Gross National Happiness is considered and embodied in the constitution as the index of progress, this had to be a natural outcome, with the citizens having a high respect for the governing authorities, the laws and a reverential attitude towards their kings.
Bhutan is not yet enmeshed in the manic fad of development (a lot of which is a conscious decision on the part of the authorities) that recklessly throws away what is unique and relevant for a country and its people in pursuit of the contraptions of a more commercially developed economy. It could be seen as naive and short-sighted by some. However, in my opinion, it makes far more sense to design a roadmap that is sustainable and also relevant to the country's cultural and environmental values which may or may not be alike other economies.
________
Are you still with me on this journey? The more exciting parts are yet to come. So, do join me.
