Thursday 3 April 2008

First Bhutanese restaurant in Japan

April 3: If you are traveling to Japan and if you should feel homesick and the desire to eat Bhutanese food, the place to visit is the Gatemo Tabum. Gatemo Tabum is the first Bhutanese restaurant in the Japanese capital Tokyo.


Apart from Bhutanese students studying in Tokyo and officials on training, the restaurant is also attracting a large number of Japanese.


Gatemo Tabum is a popular rendezvous for Japanese with a taste for Bhutanese food. But be warned. You cannot just walk in and ask for Ke-wa Dhatshe with rice and ezey.

The restaurant is so popular you have to make advance booking. The restaurant was opened in December 2006 by a group of Japanese who have visited Bhutan as tourists and developed a taste for Bhutanese food.

Mrs. Watanabe is one of the owners of the restaurant. She said they decided to open the restaurant because they found Bhutanese food delicious. She said Indian and Chinese restaurants are common in almost every where in the world but not Bhutanese.

The restaurant can be easily identified from the decoration. At the entrance of the restaurant, Bhutanese religious items like Gyeltshen Baden and prayer flags greet the customers. The inside is decorated with Kuthangs, dhapas and phobs- traditional Bhutanese wooden bowls and Bangchungs, bamboo baskets.



Smoking is banned in the restaurant. Mrs. Watanabe said this is because sale of tobacco products is banned in Bhutan. Mrs. Watanabe said initially the restaurant failed to draw customers.

Its clientele began to grow shortly after the Japanese national television service NHK broadcast two programs on Bhutanese food. You can order for any Bhutanese dish. You name it, they have it -from Hogay to Phaksha Seekam, Ema Dhaatshe and Kewa Dhatshe. And after a sumptuous dinner, if you feel like a drink or two, you can ask for a shot of special courier or black mountain whisky.

Mrs. Watanabe said getting the ingredients is one of her biggest problems. She has been able to grow Bhutanese chilies in a small kitchen garden with seeds she brought from Bhutan. The restaurant is a favorite place for Bhutanese in Tokyo.

Mrs. Watanabe and her partners visit Bhutan regularly at least once every year to keep themselves abreast with developments in Bhutan especially with food habits.

http://www.bbs.com.bt/

2 comments:

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