What to eat in Nepal

Horror stories abound - eat the food in Nepal, and you'll pay for it later in the bathroom.

But there are tricks to avoiding food poisoning, and enjoying the best-tasting food, while on vacation in this Himalayan kingdom.

Nepal isn't particularly known for its cuisine. Most local food is a mix of bland, high-mountain Tibetan dishes from the north, and spicy contributions from the Indians to the south. Almost every item associated with Nepali food came from somewhere else.

But that's not to say that food in Nepal isn't good. You just have to a look a little harder for the best eats.

Here are some of the most common items you'll find on menus in Nepal:

Momos

The most famous of these native foods are momos. Momos are basically dumplings, similar to potstickers, made with wonton squares and a filling of either meat or vegetables and spices.

In the US, the version we most often see are the Peking raviolis of Chinese restaurant fame. In the cities of Nepal, they are most commonly filled with chicken, while in the mountains, the most popular filling is spinach and cabbage. They come with dipping sauces, the best of which (to me, anyway) contain generous amounts of cilantro.

Momos are generally safe to order anywhere, city or country, though I once had veggie momos on the trail which were filled with grit and dirt. Obviously someone had forgotten to wash the spinach! Surprisingly, they did not make me sick, and were actually quite tasty.

Because they are generally steamed, not fried, they are a good option for dieters. The exception are the Snickers or Mars momos - yes, momos made with candy bars -- which I was just a little too leery to try for myself.

Dal Bhat

This is one of those few foods that actually is native to Nepal. It's very simple, consisting of lentil soup (dal) and rice (bhat).

That alone could be overly bland, which is why it's great that it also comes with a side dish of spicy, curried veggies. The veggies can vary from region to region, but potatoes seem to be the most popular on the trail. This side dish is almost always very, very spicy hot.

You're supposed to mix it all up and eat it together, especially the lentils and rice. On the trail, sit next to the porters and watch them eat their dal bhat. You may have to a wait a while, since they're always the last to be served, after all the guests. But it's worth the wait to watch their technique, the way they use their fingers to adeptly mix together the rice and lentils into little balls, which they then pop into their mouths.

Hey, I figure that if dal bhat is good enough for these hearty souls who carry people's gear up mountains in their flip-flops, it's good enough for me!

The best part about dal bhat is that it's "all you can eat." You should be offered unlimited refills on all or any of it - the rice, the lentil soup, the veggies. You can get more of one without more of the other, in other words. For this reason, you'll notice that dal bhat is usually just a little more expensive than other items on the menu.

Swiss rosti

Oh, how I miss Swiss rostis for breakfast! As the name implies, these potato treats come from another country and culture. But the Nepalis have made them their own, and you will find them on every menu in the country.

A Swiss rosti is essentially a potato pancake, nice and thick and, at its best, filled with chunks of veggies and herbs. They are excellent with a couple of fried eggs draped over the top, making an especially hearty and energy-producing breakfast for trekkers. They may be a bit heavy for city-dwellers, however - in that case, just order them for lunch instead!

The only drawback to ordering a Swiss rosti is that the quality varies tremendously from place to place. Even within the same village, what you get at one restaurant could be completely different from what you get at another. I've had rostis so salty and filled with powdered, unnamed spices that I could not eat it. Then, the next day, had one chock full of garlic and onion and so tasty I thought I had woken up in heaven.

As a general rule, if the dinner you had the night before was OK, chances are the same place will make you a pretty good rosti in the morning. The good news? Even bad rostis are yummy, for the most part.

Pizza

Yes, you will find pizza in Nepal! But be warned: it's not the same thing you'll find in the states.

Some of the pizza in the cities, however, will surprise you. You'll find pizzas with crispy crusts, pizzas draped in mozzarella and tomatoes, pizzas laced with basil. You will also find overloaded, soggy and messy pizzas, but, then again, I'm also from the Northeast US, so I'm a little pickier than most...

When in a city for more than a night or two, shop around a little. Try a couple of places, splitting a pizza with the group as an appetizer to test it out. Ask other Westerners for tips. It won't take you long to find the best pizza place in town.

However, be wary of pizza on the trail. The further from the city you go, the less they look like pizza. On the trail, they usually consist of a chapati (Indian flatbread), covered in cheap, canned tomato sauce and who-knows-what-else. Tuna pizza is a big offering at trail lodges, but I never saw one that looked appetizing. Go for it, though, if you like tuna and you're feeling adventurous!

Cheese

Yes, cheese is available in Nepal, even in the most remote regions. But, no, it's not the same kind of cheese you're used to.

In the city, yes, you can get cow cheese. And it tastes pretty normal. But even in the populated areas, most cheese comes in the form of yak cheese. And that takes some getting used to.

Start out slow with yak cheese. Try a little bit on an order of spaghetti. Or share a pizza with another trekker. That way, you can see if you can stomach it before you put it all over your dinner. Some people just don't like it, period.

Yak cheese has a very strong flavor. It's a hard cheese, similar to parmesan, but much more pungent.

That said, I actually ended up really liking yak cheese, especially on my pasta. I still like cow cheese better, though.

Drinks

Please, please do not order beer on the trail! Villagers have no way to dispose of the glass bottles, which more often than not end up thrown into a trash heap behind the nice lodge you just stayed in. Save the beer - I can recommend Nepal Ice or Everest, both of which come in super-sized bottles - for when you're in the city.

If you need an alcoholic drink on the trail, try one that's been brewed locally. Apple and apricot brandy are abundant in some areas, especially near the city of Jomsom on the Annapurna Circuit. Be warned: the brandy is not for lightweights!

For non-alcoholic treats, don't miss out on Nepal's wide array of fresh fruit juices! Ask your server what's available that day, as it does vary. In the lowlands, you'll find mildly-flavored, thick and pulpy pineapple juice. A little higher up, there will be apple juice so fresh, it tastes like a liquid apple.

And high, high up, be sure to get fresh sea-buckthorn juice. This is a rare, special fruit native to the Himalayas; this particular kind of sea-buckthorn is found only here, and nowhere else on earth. The juice is sweet, and tastes so tropical you'll be shocked the fruit only grows in cold climates.

As for hot drinks, stick with tea. Coffee is repulsive throughout the country, even in places that advertise filtered coffee (as opposed to instant). Black tea is good in the morning; mint tea is good at night. And hot chocolate is a nice treat when at high altitudes, giving you something soothing, with energy, to sip on as you fight through the nausea and lack of appetite.

Drinks made with boiling water are also a good way to re-hydrate yourself without worrying about treating the water. Always make sure fruit juice does not contain ice cubes made of untreated water, or is diluted with untreated water. Restaurants catering to Western tourists should already know the drill.

What else to order on the trail

The longer you are on the trail, the easier this gets. That's because the menu never, ever changes. At least that was the case on the Annapurna Ciruit trail, where officials had to authorize the menus to keep competition fair and prevent lodges from importing crazy amounts of goods into remote regions. So you'll quickly become familiar with the offerings, and the ingredients. You'll see every manner of creative ways to use tuna, mushrooms and tomato sauce.

Stick with local cuisine as much as possible, especially the further away from the cities you go. I know, you'll be tempted by the pizza and pasta offerings on the menu. They sound so much like home! But because their origins are from so far away, chances are the cooks have no idea how to cook them.

I will, however, say that I almost always order plain old spaghetti with tomatoes and cheese. If it's on the menu, the veggie spaghetti is great - usually full of spinach, cabbage and onions, or whatever else is fresh from the garden that day. I've had a few pretty gross spaghetti dinners, but most have been brilliant and hit the spot after a long day of hiking.

Veggy curry is another safe bet. Sometimes it more resembles a soup, but you can get it with rice, which is very filling, if not very exciting.

The safest bet of all, and the best bang for your buck if you are unusually hungry, is the dal bhat, which we've already covered. Make sure you get seconds if you want them! Most places are generous about offering you more helpings, but other places you have to specifically ask. Remember: you're entitled to those seconds, or thirds, or even fourths. That's the whole point of a dal bhat!

Closer to the Tibetan border, the food changes just a little, and becomes a bit blander. I was once given a bowl of veggy "curry" soup with no spices whatsoever, and a plate of boiled potatoes. No butter, no flavorings, not even any salt. Just plain old unpeeled, boiled potatoes. Very Tibetan.

If you're really adventurous, try their milk tea. Most of us think it's pretty disgusting (made with yak butter - ew!), but who knows? You might like it.

In Tibetan strongholds, you can also try Tibetan bread with jam for breakfast, or even dessert. It's similar to American fried dough, and very yummy.

Speaking of dessert, don't be afraid to try apple pie just because it sounds too American. Ordered in the right place, it's amazing! Apples are a common crop in many temperate mountain regions, so any dessert made with apples is worth a try.

In the morning, go with eggs. You will hardly ever go wrong with eggs, though sometimes they'll be undercooked. Asking for them "fried on both sides" will take care of that problem.

Besides the Swiss rosti, another favorite breakfast of mine was a veggie omelete, with chapatis on the side (each single order should come with two chapatis). Cut the omelete in half, and roll up each half inside a chapati, eating it like a breakfast burrito. Yum! Not only does it taste good, it gives you enough fuel for a full day of trekking.

Avoiding the "Delhi belly"

Yes, "Delhi belly" is alive and well in Nepal. Though I will say, I heard more scary stories about people getting sick from food in India than I did about people getting sick from food in Nepal.

Common sense prevails here. Don't eat raw foods. Don't order salads. Make sure meats are cooked all the way through. Treat your water with iodine (please don't rely on bottled water, as the country as few resources available to properly dispose of the trash!).

Once you get to a destination, ask other tourists for tips. If there's a place in town making people sick, you'll hear about it from them. DON'T rely on travel agents/guides/porters. Restaurant and lodge owners are their friends, and they won't speak ill of them, even if there's reason to.

In a restaurant, look around for general signs of cleanliness. Especially look at the hands of your server, or the lodge owner/cook. I once saw a cook with the dirtiest, nastiest fingernails I had ever seen. Another surprise - I didn't get sick after eating there. But I also didn't linger over breakfast the next morning, either.

Honestly, even the utmost caution will not protect you 100 percent from food poisoning. Carry antibiotics and Immodium, just in case.

I wasn't careful at all with what I ate (though I always, always treated my water). I ate sandwiches with fresh lettuce, ordered salads, ate in restaurants where I had seen rats running around. And in my six weeks in Nepal, I only got sick once.

So I had one day of diarrhea, among the six weeks of mostly great food, including those delicious Swiss rostis almost every day... All in all, I consider myself pretty darn lucky.