Thukpa, Anyone?

After a protracted period of languor, I have finally recovered from my torpidity and mustered sufficient "energy" (for want of a better word, for words elude me now) to blog about the latest fare I have had. I'll keep it short (and fairely terse) though, so here goes:

My friend and I visited Tim's Restaurant & Cafe for a quick meal over lunch. A self-declared Nepalese-Western restaurant, Tim's serves up cheap western food as well as several Nepalese dishes. Being an aventurière, I opted for the Thukpa ($8), which is purportedly a traditional Nepalese dish. My friend, on the other hand, opted for a sirloin steak ($12.50). Both of us went for the meal, which consisted of soup, dessert and coffee, tea or milo for an additional $3.50 (Only I had to top up the extra amount; my friend's meal was already one of the set lunches on offer). 

For starters, we had the tomato soup, which was not bad in that there were vegetable bits that added some substance to the soup. Nevertheless, it was too diluted for my liking, for I personally prefer purée-style tomato broth like that at Saybons.

Tomato Soup

Alas! The long-awaited thukpa had finally arrived. The dish consisted of traditional sherpa noodle soup cooked in chicken stock and seasonal vegetables topped with chicken meat, omelet strips and slices of sausage, or so the menu read. However, to my dismay, the noodle lacked oomph and the soup was mediocre at best, for I could not taste any distinct flavours. The up side though, was that there was a heap of vegetables, a point that would probably endear this dish to vege-lovers. All in all, the thukpa left me disappointed, for the menu made it sound greater than what it really was. Nevertheless, for the mere price of $8, it wasn't bad, so I guess I'll have to save on my complaints. 

Thukpa

As for my dining partner's sirloin steak (which she had ordered to be of medium-well doneness), it seemed rather tough, though I will refrain from being overly harsh for the quality was expected of a $12.50 steak. 

Sirloin Steak

Lastly, a slice of banana cake was served for dessert. The banana cake was alright, though a plus point was that it was not overly sweet.

Banana Cake

In a nutshell, I wasn't too thrilled about the Nepalese cuisine at Tim's, as - in spite of the foreign-speaking and Nepalese-like servers - it remains to be seen whether the cuisine served can be called true blue Nepalese fare. One thing for sure though, is that the prices are reasonable and that it attracts a sizeable office lunch crowd, so, should one be in the vicinity (Braddell), he may wish to give it a go. 

And now that this post has been completed, allow me to say this: In all honesty, I find it extremely difficult to give reviews on places which I deem "so-so" - for excellent establishments, it is easy to describe the multisensory experience; for sub-par restaurants, it isn't difficult to thoroughly criticize their food and be merciless about it. However, for mediocre restaurants, there is no word more apt nor appropriate than "so-so" - a word that encompasses the ennui yet grudging acceptance of the level of food served ("grudging acceptance" for reasons like cheap price etc). 

Oh well, such is the case for "so-so" food establishments.