Chef Santosh Sah expanded three branches of 'Mithila Thali' in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, June 22:The 'Mithila Thali' restaurant, founded by BBC Master Chef Santosh Shah, has reached its second year. Sah, who opened a Mithila food restaurant in Janakpur on June 21 last year with the goal of promoting Mithila's original dishes, has already grown three branches in Kathmandu before the second year.

He opened Mithila Thali in Jhamsikhel some time ago with the intention of providing Kathmandu residents with the flavor of Janakpur and Madhes cuisine. In addition, to celebrate its second year, Mithila Thali conducted a soft opening of its third branch in Gaushala on Thursday, and a new restaurant will open in Gairidhara in Naxal in a few days, he said.

"After relative success in Janakpur, we started a restaurant in Jhamsikhel in Kathmandu valley" , according to him. "After the enthusiastic response to the restaurant in Jhamsikhel, we are going to start restaurants in Gaushala and Gairidhara."

According to him, the Gaushala location will only serve vegetarian cuisine. He stated that he plans to open a vegetarian restaurant for pilgrims visiting the Pashupatinath temple. Sah stated that Kathmandu people will now be able to original the authentic Mithila cuisine in Gaushala. He said that under Mithila thali, customers can taste 17 dishes in one thali.

"I aim to promote Mithila's original food along with culture and art" , as he stated, "so the restaurant is decorated with Mithila art to reflect Mithila." According to Sah, people who visit the restaurant can help the artists by purchasing Mithila paintings. "We have kept the creations of Mithila artists here, customers can support them financially by purchasing this art" , he stated.

He has recently been actively pushing food tourism. He stated that while Gaushala restaurant will only serve Mithila vegetarian food, Gairidhara and Jhamsikhel restaurants will provide Sah's personalized menu, allowing guests to try new recipes.

Sah informed that work is being done to bring the dishes of Mata Sita's birthplace to Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, under food tourism. According to him, Mithila Thali will start in Ayodhya within a year.

He also stated that there are plans to open a restaurant in Doha, Qatar's capital, within a year. In addition, he intends to extend the restaurant into more major cities around the country in the future.