When I first
came into contact with the restaurant, “Brown
Sugar” I was at a Social Entrepreneurship Bazaar on October 6 at Baber
Mahal Revisted. Amongst the various
entrepreneurs I spotted amazing looking cakes and breads and my salivary glands
immediately started salivating. I bought
a piece of cake, took a brochure and knew that I had to find this place.
Hearing the
name Brown Sugar made me think of one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs of
the same name- “Ah
brown sugar how come you taste so good”. After talking to the guys serving the cake
and finding out that they were former addicts, who wanted to have a sustainable
and independent life, I knew that this was one restaurant that I wanted to
support. Brown Sugar was opened in
February 2011 and is directly opposite the British School in Jhamsikhel.
After a few
weeks, I mentioned Brown Sugar to one of my friends and we went for breakfast.
Brown Sugar advertises itself as specializing in a number of foods and although
I have been to Brown Sugar a number of times, I have only eaten the whole wheat
banana and apple pancakes, with a bit of honey mixed in. When my children were much younger I used to
make pancakes and waffles almost every weekend and I thought that I knew how to
make these special breakfasts. But after
eating the pancakes at Brown Sugar I know that I am just a novice. I also know that I need to try some of their
other delectable delights from a very diverse menu, but whenever I think of the
pancakes…well, ke garne?
On December
9, I took a German VSO friend from India to Brown Sugar for breakfast. Kristiane was in Nepal, for the very first
time, to go on a trek but spent two days with me, prior to leaving. This is what she had to say, “Having only
arrived in Kathmandu the previous evening, I couldn’t have been treated to a
better breakfast. On first sight I was impressed with the inviting atmosphere
of the “Brown Sugar” and the friendly staff. The young guy who served us did it
with a genuine smile all the way through our visit. I ordered the “Princess
Breakfast” and it made me feel like one. A steaming hot Nepali Massala Chai
arrived first – served, of course, with brown sugar – what a way to start the
day. It was followed by fresh orange juice, Egg Florentine with spinach on the
most fantastic bread I have come across in Asia … and I have been here a while.
The breakfast was concluded with a delicious buckwheat banana pancake. My only
complaint: it turned out to be too much for me and I had to ask for half the
pancake to be parceled. A definitive recommend!”
When I
initially walked to Brown Sugar I wasn’t quite sure where it was located. There are really no signs advertising the
fact that one is near a restaurant, but there is a sign post at the entrance. Once one enters, one comes into a courtyard
with a number of tables. I saw this as a
very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, and of course, there was western rock
music playing in the background.
I’ve always
found everyone working at Brown Sugar to have a smile on their face and found
this friendliness to be very sincere. It
always makes a difference to have servers, serving with a smile and makes one
feel very welcome. On some level, Brown
Sugar feels like eating at home, at it has a laid back feel, but unlike my home
the customer service is truly tremendous. If one requests something the order
comes quickly enough, without having to ask more than once to be served.
Brown Sugar
is a clean restaurant and if one doesn’t want to sit outside, there are
multiple indoor tables. Being somewhat
of a nut for clean bathrooms, especially at restaurants, I found the toilet
facilities very up to western standards.
Overall, Brown Sugar is very clean and there are plenty of napkins at
each table.
Like my
friend Kristiane, I highly recommend Brown Sugar as a great neighborhood place
to eat. I know that I’ll go back
numerous times and next time hopefully, I’ll try something else. The restaurant
is open every-day from 8 AM-10 PM. http://www.cafebrownsugar.com.np/
General impression about the restaurant
(up to 700 words)
By Michael J. Rosenkrantz[1]
Please rate the following areas on a
scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest score.
1. Ambience : __8_____
2. Food quality/presentation: ___8____
3. Quality of service: __9____
4. Hygiene: ___8____
5. Value for money: ___9____
6. Overall satisfaction value: ____9___
[1]
Michael, an American from Los
Angeles, California, has been in Kathmandu, Nepal since June 2012 and will be
here until, at minimum, June 2013. He
works for both CSRC and VSO Nepal in
building partnerships, primarily focusing on the corporate and media
sectors. Michael has been working on
Corporate Social Responsibility, in helping corporates to become more involved
in community projects. He also plays,
and coaches a wheelchair army basketball team.
Prior to living in Nepal, Michael spent three years as a VSO volunteer
in India, working for the National Trust, Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, Government of India in the field of developmental
disabilities. While in India, Michael also
played and coached basketball at the New Delhi YMCA. Michael was involved in a sport wheelchair
donation project in India, collaborating with Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide, an
American NGO, and hopes to do the same in Nepal during May 2013. Michael has worked for almost 30 years,
mainly in the US, and most recently as Executive Director for various
NGOs. Michael has two adult children
living in California, Daniel, 27, who is becoming a monk and Sarah, 23, who is
in college and is an actor, musician and dancer. You can reach Michael at
mikerlakers@yahoo.com
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