Whenever we hear the word salad, all we can think about is something very bland and tasteless. I was the same until my friend suggested a place to me. I was obviously very reluctant to visit but she was positive that I would love the place and their food.
So, taking a time out, I made my brother come with me who was as suspicious as I was. Enjoying the warm, sunny day, he and I went on a short trip to Forest and Plate.
Located at Mandala Street, Thamel, Forest & Plate was established in February 2017 in high hopes to serve varieties of salad, and a place where vegans and vegetarians can enjoy not only a good ambience but also delicious food.
Never would I have believed that there is a place like Forest and Plates in Thamel. The restaurant stood true to its name, as it is surrounded by pots of plants, almost making one feel like they were in a forest.
A perfect, cosy place to spend some time with your friends or even enjoy a healthy meal with your family.
Having done the research for what to serve and where to get the core ingredients for almost 7 months, even training their staff for 2 months, Forest and Plate came to existence.
“We bring all of our ingredients from organic farms in Bhaktapur, and even use homemade pasta,” explains Rayamajhi.
Looking at the drinks menu, one drink caught my eye; it was called Beets & Ginger. Made out of fresh carrot, beetroot, and orange, it was the perfect drink for a hot sunny day and neither of the ingredients overpowered each other and a little sour taste from the orange just brought the whole drink together.
Moving onto the starters, while I am not a big fan of salads when the owner suggested trying their Mexican salad, I could not say no.
And, I honestly was expecting something plain and sad looking, but how I was proven wrong!
When it was brought to our table, the salad looked fresh, vibrant, and colourful. Rayamajhi said, “This is one of our popular salads on the menu, and our Nepalese customers just love it due to the cilantro dressing. We put fresh avocado, sweet corn, black beans, spinach, salsa, and chicken dressed with honey salt, peppers, lemon juice, garlic, and a tad bit of sour cream at the top.”
In every bite, it was a burst of different flavours but all of the ingredients complimented each other so well. A hint of sweet and sour, along with the perfect amount of salt and pepper made the dish worth coming back for.
While I was gobbling down the salad, our next dish was served, Pesto Pasta. Made out of homemade pesto and pasta dressed with sundried tomatoes, broccoli and green beans, the dish was so creamy but light.
“We make our own pesto sauce for the pasta and it is vegan friendly,” explains Rayamajhi.
Well, who knew vegan food tasted this good, and if no one had told me it was vegan, I would never have known.
And to bring our lunch to an end with a sweet note, we were served with their homemade, Cashew Cake. “We learned how to make this vegan, gluten-free dessert from one of our customers. She had written a book with vegan recipes and offered to teach us how to make one of them,” says Rayamajhi.
Made with blended cashew nuts, coconut cream, sugar syrup along with the base made of dates, walnut, almond and raisin, the cake takes almost 24 hours to set. “We have to soak the cashew for 6 hours before it is made into a paste, and after everything is done, we set it into the freezer to set.”
The cake was not too sweet and was just so light and fresh, a perfect note to end.
Contact Details:
Location: Mandala Street, Thamel
Phone No.: 01-4701161
Email: forestandplate@gmail.com
Facebook: Forest and plate
Instagram: Forestandplate
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