Tag Archives: Nepal

Prabal Gurung Resort 2015

Posted on June 19, 2014 | 2 comments

Inspired by a show of the British artist Matthew Stone’s work at The Hole gallery, Prabal Gurung ( my favourite designer), named his latest Resort collection: Unconditional Love. He said he approached his striking new Resort collection as if it were a “one-stop shop from morning to evening”. The idea, he explained, was prompted by all the traveling he’s been doing to trunk shows in places as far-flung as Singapore and Toronto.

I love everything from this collection, from tees and sweatshirts to floor-length gala dresses with prints or jacquards designed to evoke Stone’s brushstrokes. The prints and jacquards came in vivid shades of red or blue, sometimes mingled together, and they turned the clothes into moving canvases.

Here are some of my favourite from the collections..And looks at those choose, love love love.

View the rest of the collection .

Apart from his latest collection, he is definitely making waves around the world and doing a great job.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Posted in Fashion, Nepal

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Household tricks and tips (HTT)

Posted on June 8, 2014 | Leave a comment

I know we all have tips and tricks we use every day around the house which make our job easier. In this page, I want to collect all those tips and tricks. Please leave comments below with your handy tips so I can share them in my blog too.

#HTT : How to keep your shower cubical clean?

In Australia, most of the shower cubical is made out of glass. When you shower every day, it will leave behind soap scum which look really bad but you can’t clean it every day. So it is a painful job you need to do when you do it but in the meantime every time anyone uses the toilet, they will see the marks in the shower cubical.

Solution: Keep a window/glass squeegee in the shower. Yes, it is really handy. Every time, anyone has a shower, ask them to use it on the tiles and glass and you don’t have to worry about it at all.

As the tiles and glass panels will be soaked properly while someone has a shower, if you just use the window cleaner, squeegee, the surface won’t have any soap scum and will look clean. It takes only a minute and will keep your bath cubical shiny all the time.

#HTT : What to use as alternative for wet wipes?

We always need make up removal wet wipes around as it is so handy and can fix a mess but if you run out of it there is always a solution.

Solution: Use baby wipes instead. They are soft, most are fragrance and alcohol free and cheaper than wet wipes.

Both baby wipes and wet wipes contain the same active ingredients and have different additives like Aloe depending on the brand so I see no problem.

Dear readers, please leave comments below with your handy tips so I can share them in my blog too.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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Posted in Household tricks and tips

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Kwati: Nepali mixed bean soup

Posted on June 3, 2014 | 9 comments

This is a guest post I wrote for , Chai- A cup of life, amazing blog I have been following for a while. Thank you so much for the opportunity and sharing the post here.

I would like to introduce you to M who writes her blog called ‘Nepali Australian‘. M is a Nepalese born Australian living in Sydney, an IT Business Analyst who loves blogging, travelling and fashion! We have been following each others blogs for some time now and I love reading about her thoughts, the Nepalese way of life and of course her life in Sydney. Her writings have been published in magazines, newspapers and she has even held her own Nepali Australian ‘Blog Awards 2013′, (which Chai a Cup of Life received an award for- thank you!) Today she is sharing a traditional Nepalese dish called ‘Kwati’. Here it is: 

It is really cold in Sydney these days. It is supposed to be autumn but it feels like winter already so I am always looking to cook warm meals for dinner. In Nepal, they have food for every season and Kwatiis especially made during rainy and cold season and is a very popular Nepali soup. Kwati is a traditional Nepalese dish which is a thick stew of several kinds of beans. It is high in protein so it is considered good to be given to sick people to gain strength.

kwati (10)

This soup is  made during the festival JanaiPurnimain Nepal. Kwati is normally a mix of 9 beans namely, black eye peas, cow peas, black lentils, chickpeas, adzuki, soybeans, mung dal, green peas and favas. But we can use any beans and pluses you have to make this soup. Luckily for me, I found a pre-mixedkwati pack in a Nepali grocery store.

Some people like to sprout it before making it into a soup but I just soaked it overnight and made the soup without sprouting.

Ingredients

  • 200 gm Kwati Mix
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 2medium tomatoes diced
  • 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste
  • 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder
  • 1 tablespoon of garam masala powder
  • 2 tablespoons of oil
  • 3 cups of vegetable /chicken stock
  • A few bay leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 teaspoons of ghee
  • 1 teaspoon jwanu (Lovage)

kwati (5)

Steps

  • Wash and soak the Kwati mix overnight and drain the water.

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  • In a pressure cooker, heat oil and season with turmeric powder and bay leaf. Add the chopped onion and fry until it turns golden brown.
  • Add ginger garlic paste, salt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and fry for a minute or two.

kwati (2)

  • Add chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are soft. Make them into a paste.
  •  Add the soaked Kwati mix to the pressure cooker, mix well and add vegetable /chicken stock and cook until 5-7 whistles or until you can smell the beans.

kwati (3)

  •  Let it cool in the pressure cooker before you open the lid. As there are different types of beans, test the big ones like broad beans to check if it is cooked properly. The beans must be tender on touch. If it is not cooked enough then press again.

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  • In a pan, heat the ghee.

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  • Once ghee is hot, add jwanu(lovage)and fry for 30 seconds until it is dark brown in colour.

kwati (8)

  • Pour this into the pressure cooker with kwati and mix well.

kwati (6)

  • You could add more water/vegetable /chicken stock depending upon how thick you want the soup.

kwati (9)

P.S : If you are not into vegetable soup, you could add cooked/boiled  meat into the soup as well. Enjoy a tasty and healthy soup!!

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Posted in Foodie, Nepal, Nepali food, Recipe

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Why do so many drivers never use their indicators these days?

Posted on May 28, 2014 | 10 comments

I know I shouldn’t be annoyed at petty things in life but sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they are driving. When I need to turn or change lanes, I don’t even have to think, my hand automatically moves to indicate my intention but I have lately seen so many drives turn or change lanes without the indicators. I don’t understand why drivers are so lazy that they can’t make the effort to flick a switch.

It can be laziness in their part but that is really serious as this can lead to accidents and even death in worse cases. The worst part is they are not putting only themselves in danger but others on the road as well.

Because of their laziness and selfishness there are times there is unnecessary traffic congestion on the road. Say if I am waiting to go straight on a two-lane road and the driver in front of me is going right but didn’t blink until the last minute, I won’t be able to change lanes in time and go straight on the left lane which means I am stuck behind him. On top of that the drivers behind me will be stuck as well as they can’t see the indicator in the car in front.

Another example is when I come to an intersection and I see a car on my right with no indicator, so I stop to give way to them, wait for them to pass through in front of me, they then turn left instead and I am left thinking that I stopped and gave way for no reason.

Also in a roundabout at least half the cars never signal right to turn right, which makes it extremely dangerous. I always wait until the car has gone through most of the intersection before proceeding, because I don’t know when they will suddenly turn and smash into me.

I have seen many drivers who come by and pass me and others, weaving through traffic without any indication. I am sure not so many people have an emergency on a regular basis so why the rush? What is wrong with these people?

If you know the answers to any of these questions please do share and please take care when you drive and do not forget to use your indicators when necessary.

‘The indicators on your car tell people where you are going… Please use them!’

Take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

10 Comments

Posted in Social Issue

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Nepal is a poor country with rich people

Posted on May 27, 2014 | 50 comments

Every time I visit Nepal, I feel that Kathmandu is so expensive and wonder how people who live there manage.

For a country, which is listed as one of the poorest in the world with Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita at just $743 you don’t get that feeling when you walk around the city.

If you look around, everyone has a new mobile phone, the latest iPads, fancy new clothes and a feast for every festival. It always makes me wonder how they manage to live like that when I know that the average salary in Nepal is NRS 10,000 ($100) per month.

Every time I go back, I can see that prices of things have doubled from last time and the quality has gone down. Having been to places like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, definitely the quality of things sold is Kathmandu is not very good.

I believe that I am among the average income family for Australia but still after paying mortgage and bills, there is not much left to play around so we have to plan well for any holidays and other luxuries in life but in Kathmandu people seem to be living a real luxury life. I know most of my friends/family in Kathmandu have one things sorted easily, they don’t need to worry about buying/building their own house with their salary. Either they have their family home or have some sort of inheritance sorted to build their home. I think that make them really rich because I know, most of our salary go towards the mortgage.

I went shopping with a few of my friends and cousins who live in Kathmandu and the way they shop is so different from the way I do. The things I felt were expensive, they thought were normal and just bought them. Seriously I can’t justify paying between NPR 30,000 – NPR 1,00,000 ($300-$1000) for a lehengha or sari which is to be worn once a year. I also can’t justify a new mobile/tablet every year just to look cool and I definitely can’t justify paying NPR 400 ($4.00) for a hot water with honey and lemon. A lemon in Nepal is NPR 10 and one spoon of honey is NPR 50 max so it sounds ridiculous that people are paying so much for it in a restaurant. They are paying NPR 2500 for a foundation and NPR 1500 for a lip gloss, seriously. Just a reminder again, average salary in Nepal is NPR 10,000 a month. I know it sounds OK in terms of dollar here but not in Nepal for sure.

I could go on and on but people in Nepal are happily paying this price. They say it is expensive but still pay for these luxuries without blinking hence my conclusion that Nepal is a poor country with rich people.

Do you feel the same? If you live in Kathmandu, how do you manage?

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Posted in Kathmandu, Nepal

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