A Review of Norling Restaurant & Four Seasons Cafe in McLeodganj
A quick recommendation of two little Tibetan spots I enjoyed eating at during my brief visit to McLeodganj and Dharamshala last year.
The quaint little town of McLeodganj in Himachal Pradesh is a very popular tourist destination, owing to it being nestled between the clouds of the Kangra Valley, with stunningly green and white views all around, as well as being located just a stone’s throw away from a major city in Dharamshala, making it rather convenient to reach the village. It is here that the 14th Dalai Lama established the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, after having to flee their homeland due to the Chinese occupation in 1959. McLeodganj today hosts a significant Tibetan population, many of whom have economically integrated into the region by setting up local cafes and shops, as the allure of the town as a Mini - Tibet, with the presence of many major Buddhist monasteries, only adds to the tourist presence here. Let alone Indians, McLeodganj at any time of the year is flooded by white tourists and backpackers, most of them in their 20s and 30s, thanks to the presence of cheap hostels which allow you to stay in a bunk bed for as low as 700 Indian Rupees.
A direct result of the above two factors here is that lot of the food here tends to be a mishmash of Tibetan and Continental cuisine, with it not being uncommon to see Pancakes or an American breakfast to displayed besides the Tibetan Thukpa or Gyurma, especially in more spacious, ambient cafes that are popular amongst both tourists and locals. I visited two of these cafes on my short one-day visit to McLeodganj, Norling Restaurant and Four Seasons Cafe.
Norling Restaurant
Norling Restaurant is a tiny little place run by a family, located at Dolma Chowk. Their menu is quite expansive, and while I didn’t have the chance to have as much as I wanted to, I sampled their Chilli Garlic Mutton Momos alongside a Tsampa Shake. Their Chilli Garlic Mutton Momos were quite good. I’ve had similar gravy momos in Delhi before (Yo Tibet in Humayunpur is your place to go if you’re seeking them out), but these were equally excellent. Large mutton momos with a juicy filling of tender meat and a thin covering of maida, covered in a thick, flavourful gravy of tomatoes, chilli, garlic and red bell peppers. Excellent, and very filling, best had in a group of friends. I planned on covering a few spots after this, but couldn’t, because I was bogged down after just one plate.
Tsampa flour is a staple food of Tibet. It is grounded, roasted barley flour, and is consumed as a cereal, with tea, as a porridge, as dough balls, and on its own, as it does not have to be cooked due to the barley flour being roasted. It is basically the same as Sattu that is prepared in Bihar and its surrounding regions, although consumed differently. Quite fascinating that a popular ingredient in Bihar, shares a cross-Himalayan connection with the people of Tibet, who, owing to political and cultural repression, have brought it to a tiny little town in Himachal Pradesh, where it is commonly sold today. Norling uses Tsampa flour to make Tsampa shakes - a simple mix of Tsampa, milk, and sugar, very, very thick, and extremely filling, lightly sweet with the rough taste of the roasted barley being quite prominent on your tongue.
Recommendations:
Chilli Garlic Momo (8.25 / 10), Tsampa Shake (8.75 / 10)
Location:
Dolma Chowk, Jogiwara Rd, McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh 176219
Four Seasons Cafe
Four Seasons Cafe on Jogiwara Road is a very pretty cafe, with its wooden interiors and stacks of books. It has quite the diverse menu, boasting of serving both Italian and Tibetan cuisine, and more, with everything from Pizza to Mango Lassi to Chicken Florentine to Thukpa to Pancakes to Mutton Momos to Pasta Puttanesca to Coffees to Chicken Manchurian to Thenthuk to Banoffee Pies to Paneer Pakoras to Aloo Paranthas available here, I think its safe to say that Four Season is the final boss of people who are indecisive at ordering out at restaurants.
In the khichdi of a menu, every cuisine known to mankind being featured here, one dish stood out to me - the Soutsemen, crunchy, pan-fried noodles topped with a meat or vegetable gravy - something that I have not been able to find in any other Tibetan menu. All efforts to search for the elusive Soutsemen on any search engine have been rendered useless, leading me to believe that its either something that is sparsely documented, or, an invention that has not travelled outside the four walls of this little cafe. In any case, the dish is a work of art. The noodles stick together in a circular, disk-like structure. The upper layer of the noodles are extremely cripsy and crunchy, and go well with the runny, thick, meaty gravy, which is flavoured with a variety of vegetables, mostly tomatoes, garlic and assorted greens, alongside shredded meat. The bottom of the noodle disc is regular noodles, soft, not crunchy or crispy, leading to a more conventional noodle-eating experience once you’ve fought your way through the pan-fried joy of the layer on top.
I also had their Mutton Shaphaley, a deep-fried pastry containing meat and/or cabbage, a dish that looks eerily similar to the vegetarian Ghughra (known in North India as Gujiya) in the Indian plains. While I’ve had Shaphaley a few times before in Delhi, this was easily the best I’ve ever had. A bite into this tender mutton pastry leads to the meat juices immediately burst open in your mouth, awkwardly dripping off your lips as you try to wipe them off, while simultaneously trying not to lose your mind as the euphoria of the pastry overwhelms the brain’s dopamine receptors. Excellent. After washing it all down with a refreshing cup of lemon tea, I headed out the door, to go watch a game of World Cup Cricket.
Recommendations:
Shaphaley (9.75/10), Soutsemen (8/10), Lemon Tea (9/10)
Location:
Jogiwara Rd, McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh 176219
