Editing Kathmandu (section)

=== Cuisine ===
[[File:Nepali dal-bhat-tarkari.jpg|thumb|One of the typical Nepali meals Dal Bhat Tarkari in Kathmandu|alt=|left]]

The staple food of most people in Kathmandu is [[dal bhat]]. This consists of rice and lentil soup, generally served with vegetable curries, achar and sometimes chutney. [[Momo (food)|Momo]], a type of Nepali version of Tibetan dumpling, has become prominent in Nepal with many street vendors and restaurants selling it. It is one of the most popular fast foods in Kathmandu. Various Nepali variants of momo including buff (i.e. buffalo) dumplings, chicken dumplings, and vegetarian momo are famous in Kathmandu.<!-- This article is about Kathmandu and most Nepali in Kathmandu have dal bhat as their day to day meal and are able to afford a simple meal of dal bhat and NOT any exotic and other cultural cuisines. Please see the talk regarding this discussion. The local cuisine of Kathmandu as of NOW is dal bhat and the cuisine as local is considered to be what the residents take not what a particular ethnic group takes.-->

Most of the cuisines found in Kathmandu are non-vegetarian. However, the practice of vegetarianism is not uncommon, and vegetarian cuisines can be found throughout the city. Consumption of beef is very uncommon and considered taboo in many places. ''Buff'' (meat of water buffalo) is very common. There is a strong tradition of ''buff'' consumption in Kathmandu, especially among [[Newar]]s, which is not found in other parts of Nepal. Consumption of pork was considered taboo until a few decades ago. Due to the intermixing with Kirat cuisine from eastern Nepal, pork has found a place in Kathmandu dishes. A fringe population of devout Hindus and Muslims consider it taboo. The Muslims forbid eating ''buff'' as from [[Quran]] while Hindus eat all varieties except beef as they consider [[Cattle|cow]] to be a goddess and symbol of purity. The chief lunch/snack for locals and visitors is mostly ''Momo'' or ''Chowmein''.

Kathmandu had only one western-style restaurant in 1955.<ref name="LP 2003, p.91">Lonely Planet (2003), pp. 91–92</ref> A large number of restaurants in Kathmandu have since opened, catering [[Nepali cuisine]], [[Tibetan cuisine]], [[Chinese cuisine]] and [[Indian cuisine]] in particular. Many other restaurants have opened to accommodate locals, expatriates, and tourists. The growth of tourism in Kathmandu has led to culinary creativity and the development of hybrid foods to accommodate for tourists such as American [[chop suey]], which is a sweet-and-sour sauce with crispy noodles with a [[fried egg]] commonly added on top and other westernized adaptations of traditional cuisine.<ref name="LP 2003, p.91" /> Continental cuisine can be found in selected places.

Kathmandu has a larger proportion of tea drinkers than coffee drinkers. Tea, locally known as Chiya, is widely served. It is richer and contains tea leaves boiled with milk, sugar, and spices. Tea shops that specially serve tea with other snacks are widely available. Alcohol is widely drunk, and there are numerous local variants of alcoholic beverages. Drinking and driving is illegal, and authorities have a zero-tolerance policy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21559665 |title=Nepal: A whiff of sobriety |newspaper=The Economist |date=28 July 2012 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202011139/http://www.economist.com/node/21559665 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ailaa]] and [[thwon]] (alcohol made from rice) are the alcoholic beverages of Kathmandu, found in all the local bhattis (alcohol serving eateries). [[Chhaang|Chhyaang]], [[tongba]] (fermented [[millet]] or [[barley]]) and [[raksi]] are alcoholic beverages from other parts of Nepal which are found in Kathmandu. However, shops and bars in Kathmandu widely sell western and Nepali beers.