I periodically search online for “new restaurants [town name]”. This is rarely successful, but allows me to be filled with annoyance and exclaim “these are NOT NEW!” at the search results, so there is some benefit.
A while ago though, I struck gold, as a random link came up to a review of a not-that-new restaurant in Aldershot called Vintuna. They offer Newari and Nepalese dining, and as I’d never even heard of the former, I was very excited. Their website explains that Newari cuisine originates “from the Newar community of Nepal”, and listed some dishes I had not come across before.
As is the way, it was a while before we eventually made it down there. I’m pretty sure they have taken over the spot where the Romanian deli used to be, a sad loss, but at least it was not replaced with a phone shop or nail bar.
Naturally I had pre-read the menu and homed in on those items that were (a) vegetarian and (b) I hadn’t had before. This included chatamari “Newari rice crepe, chatamari made of plain rice flour” and bara “Newari snack, plain bara, made from lentil batter, fried crisp”. You could get egg and meat versions of both of these, so we went for an egg chatamari and a plain bara.
They were in the appetisers section and we were asked if we wanted them as such, but I requested that everything came together, as I was unsure how dry they would be on their own. There were other interesting-sounding options to start, plus a selection of Nepalese standards such as chatpate and choila.
Of course we had to have some momo, and H suggested the Sandheko Momo “Nepalese dumplings tossed in a spicy marinade with onions, tomatoes, coriander, and seasoning, bursting with flavour”. I can’t recall having seen this variant before, so we went for that, along with some black lentil dahl.
Top right is the egg chatamari. This comprised a semi-steamed rice pancake a few milimetres thick, topped with a thin layer of egg. The pancake reminded me a bit of idli in taste and texture, and along with the egg was pleasant but bland. Neither H or I were sure which item the dip was for, so we used it indiscriminately – probably a faux pas.
The bara is pictured bottom right, and of course had a leg up because it was fried. It had an intriguing soft but slightly gritty texture, which made me think of the roasted ground rice that gets sprinkled on some Thai dishes. It was pleasantly salty and savoury, and I would definitely have it again.
The momo turned out to be fried, which was unexpected but fine, albeit a little tougher than a steamed momo, and the tomato-led topping was a very pleasant addition. The black dahl was mild, thick and creamy, comforting on a grey day.
H very nobly popped out to move the car, as I had been desperate to order dessert, specifically yomari. The “About Us” page on their site had described this as “sweet dumpling filled with molasses and sesame seeds”, and only an idiot would turn that down. At time of ordering, the very helpful waitress said there were actually two filling options – this one, and a “milk” one. So naturally then I had to order both.
After perhaps 15-20 minutes, a lidded bowl arrived containing two large (kiwi- to lemon-sized), white, fish-shaped dumplings (photo at top of post). One had split slightly, and a pale cream liquid was oozing out.
Suspecting that was the milk option, I scooped up the other one and cut it in half.
The darkest brown treacly filling erupted from within. My helpful photographer, H, snapped a shot, and you can see the odd sesame seed lurking within.
The thick, rice-flour casing reminded me in taste of rice-pudding, and in texture of set semolina. I was expecting the middle to be brown sugar sweetness, but it was a rich, almost burnt-tasting, sweet-bitter of black treacle. Far too intense for me, and much more up H’s street, though as it cooled, the filling began to set into first soft, then harder toffee, which made it a challenge to eat.
The milk centred option tasted like evaporated milk, which really brought home the rice pudding flavours for me. By this point we were both extremely full though, and had to abandon the last few bites.
We’d both accompanied our meal with Nepali tea, the familiar milky spiced brew, and I also asked for tap water, which came in these amazingly heavy brass cups which I instantly fell in love with.
All-in-all, a very successful meal. Sure, not everything was to my taste, but I always love trying new things, and this was all fascinating and well-priced too. I plan to return and try a few other options some time, and am keeping a sharp eye on other local restaurants to expand my research further.