Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bon Appétit

You can meet the most random people in Ladakh. All you need to do is smile and start talking to strangers. While camping at beautiful Pangong Tso, we met a couple of people who work at the Indian NDTV food show Highway on My Plate.

What a great recommendation it was! We LOVED this place so much, we came here three times in the 14 days we were in Ladakh and even made friends with the owners. This place is unlike any other restaurants in Leh. Bon Appétit literally took the Leh gastronomical scene up 15 notches. Sure the service was extremely slow, but in Ladakh, there is really no rush to do anything or go anywhere.

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Jungle tea - cinnamon "tea" with rum, served warm and yummy. We also ordered mojitos, which is made from spearmints grown from their own kitchen garden.

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Trio dips - baba ganoush, cucumber dip and humus.

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Lamb skewers with cucumber dips - one is spicy the other one is sweet. Apparently, the guy from Highway on My Plate liked the sweet dip so much he ordered a whole bowl and finished it.

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Moroccan chicken breast - Chicken breast marinated in cinnamon and cloves. I have to say, it wasn't the most popular dish on the table.

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Aubergine parmesan - crispy aubergine sticks served with yummy tomato sauce.

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Chicken momos - a slightly modified version of the traditional one. Served with spicy tomato sauce.

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Mutton shapta and tingmo - stir-fry slices of mutton served with steamed buns.

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Chocolate momos - I know, it sounded weird to us too at first but it works! Deep fried "dumplings" stuffed with chocolates and served with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. It was yum!

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Bon Appétit uses (or tries to use) ingredients grown in from their kitchen garden.

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Outdoor seating area.


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The indoor seating area. They hired a Swiss architect who was obviously very familiar with Ladakhi aesthetics. The building, floors and furniture are made of local stones, mud and wood.


This is what we had when we came back from brunch.

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Paneer vegetable sandwich - "A": ...in fact, I like the brunch menu even more than I do the dinner menu.

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Mutton sandwich - served with caramelized onions.

Overall Ratings:
Po's: 9.5/10
"A": 9/10

Would we return?
Definitely!

Address:
Changspa La

3 comments:

  1. Bon Appetit truly is the best restaurant in Ladakh, and quite possibly one of the best in all of India. I spent my summer there and enjoyed every meal.

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  2. I agree. Bon Appetit is so much more than the food. Fantastic ambience and seriously pretty owners :)

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  3. I cant agree with you more ....what an amazing place

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