A Spoonful of Nepal

Stories by Amber Craig, Laura Obradov and Kristen Pegoraro

Multimedia Production by Meg Sydes

Web Design and Development by Claire Ciantar

Nepalese Migration to Australia

Timeline by Claire Ciantar

Anmol & Dinesh

Story by Amber Craig

In a busy cafe in Melbourne’s Gertrude Street, Fitzroy sits Arcadia. A bustling, popular cafe serving reliably good food. Most days of the week, see’s Nepalese chef's, Anmol KC, 22 and Dinesh Bajgain, 28 working in the kitchen. Their job is to create delicious, unique fare for the locals who love to frequent this unpretentious, homely space. But, this wasn’t always the way for Anmol and Dinesh who both came to Australia in 2013. In fact, in the kitchen was the last place they would be found back in their hometown of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Anmol and Dinish met whilst cooking in the kitchen at Arcadia. They didn’t know each other before arriving in Australia, however it was the same thing that brought them both here - study. Dinesh is studying Engineering and Anmol was studying Accounting but has since moved into Cookery after finding a passion for it whilst working at Arcadia.

Anmol and Dinesh explain that studying in a Western culture such as America, England or Australia provides much more practical learning compared to Nepal where education is much more theoretically based.

Asking Dinesh and Anmol if they want to stay in Australia once their study is complete, they both answer ‘no’ in unison. They explain it’s their parents desire to have them return to Nepal and their culture of closeness that makes them miss their homeland so much.

Dinesh believes asking other migrants from Nepal the same question may give a very different answer. “In Nepal, if you work by yourself, still we have a culture to look after your parents, at the same time, your siblings.“ however he believes other Nepalese migrating to Australia want to stay because “they like the culture, they like the freedom, the surroundings, the environment.” They also don’t have the added stress of supporting their entire family.

An added pressure of wanting to stay in Australia is applied once children are born. Dinesh states “it's very hard to take them back to Nepal because the culture and education system is so different.” He believes this is another reason why people stay in Australia after immigrating from Nepal even though deciding to stay in Australia is a very difficult decision to make simply due to the very close knit family dynamics.

“We’ve grown up without working. It’s like a free life. Coming here and working is like too much pressure for you.” The boys talk about living in Nepal where neither one of them has worked or had to do domestic chores. Their lives have always been focused on attending school and studying but have never consisted of working in a paid job or doing tasks around the home. This made arriving in Australia both difficult and liberating which is another reason why they want to return to Nepal in the future. Working in a paid job took some time to adjust to, yet money and being able to buy anything they wanted without having to ask their parents for money, was new and exciting. They are also able to send money back to Nepal support their families.

When they arrived in Australia, both Anmol and Dinesh only had basic cooking skills.

Dinesh explains the role of most women, up to about ten years ago, was being a housewife and looking after the household. All cooking, cleaning and managing the home were her role. The head of the house is the patriarch who goes to work and earns the money that goes towards supporting the home and family. The male children of the household do not have to do any domestic chores like cleaning, cooking or washing clothes.

Upon their arrival to Australia, both Dinesh and Anmol were surprised to find people so welcoming and friendly which Dinesh says is very different to Kathmandu. “If people don’t know you, they won’t talk to you” but here in Melbourne, they have found even strangers to be friendly and chatty, a big difference compared to home. However, outside the capital, the people of the regional areas, are generous to a fault offering food and accommodation for no payment.

Thinking about the contrast between Australia and Nepal, Dinesh and Anmol agree there are vast differences especially when it comes to culinary habits. “From top to bottom, there are differences. The way we eat, in our country, is mostly by hand. Here, you use cutlery. The way we eat food is different. Here, you have breakfast, lunch, dinner set up but in Nepal, sometimes we don’t have breakfast. We’ll have lunch as breakfast.”

Anmol and Dinesh think back to when they arrived in Australia really not knowing how to prepare or cook anything. The boys laugh when they remember first discovering bacon - a dish they’d never before seen until being in Australia. Now it’s one of Anmol’s favorite things to order on a menu.

Momo, a traditional Nepalese dish.

The boys very much miss the food of Nepal and aren’t really able to find traditional food and spices here in Australia. The Nepalese restaurants in Melbourne have created Western Fusion dishes that don’t quite satisfy the longing of home cooked food however, their palettes are being expanded by trying many other cuisines from around the world whilst living in Australia.

One major difference the boys have noticed between Western and Nepalese culture is everything in Nepal is eaten fresh. Whatever is made for the meal will be eaten at the time. There are no leftovers, unlike in Australia where we keep food for days after making it. The boys have found this a funny cultural difference, especially as a lot of food is also frozen, something that is just not done back home. If meat is on the menu for the day in Nepal, the animal will be killed the same morning and all of the meat consumed that day.

Even though Anmol and Dinesh enjoy other cuisines and trying the food of other cultures like pasta and noodles, they find it simply does not satisfy them the way their traditional dishes with rice do. Anmol states that “rice really kills a hangover!” But the dish they most miss from Nepal is Momo.

The boys discuss how Nepal has been a very male dominated society with women staying at home and doing the domestic household chores. Nepal has been very traditional in this way however there is a shift and more of a move towards Western culture and this can be seen with men and women in the workforce. In years gone by, there was no such thing as a weekend or differentiation between the days however, now the younger generations are starting to go out on weekends to socialise. However, ask the boys what they miss the most about Nepal and it’s not momo or the dramatic, jagged mountainous landscape, but their family and friends. As much as they enjoy the experience Australia has to offer, the close knit family bonds shared within Nepalese families will pull them back to Nepal where they will be able to show off their newly acquired culinary skills.

Bhim

Story by Kristen Pegoraro

Aspiration. Drive. Opportunity. These are the reasons for why Bhim Neupane, came to Australia in 1999, from the Baglung district of Nepal.

In Nepal, Bhim’s passion was for tourism and hospitality. He owned, both a hotel and a travel agency successfully for four years. However, he felt that better opportunities in these fields were in other parts of the world. He possessed a desire to learn more and develop a skill set that he could one day bring back to Nepal. 1999, was the year he began his studies at Swinburne University in Melbourne. He studied both tourism and hospitality as well as graduating with a bachelor in Business.

Australia opened all sorts of doors for Bhim. He opened up his own restaurant named “Kantipur” in Caulfield in 2005 and ran it for 10 years. Now, after so many years of experience in Australia, Bhim is the owner and executive chef of Nirankar, a popular and sought after Indian and Nepalese restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD.

Upon first arriving in Australia, the already present Nepalese food culture in Melbourne, allowed him to get several jobs working both the back and front of Nepalese restaurants in order to support himself financially.

Bhim says that back in Nepal, food and festivals brought people together. Now, that he is in Australia, meals times come more frequently and therefore, brings people together more often. He did highlight that he misses the purity of the organic vegetables that he would grow in Nepal and he misses the natural springs that anyone could drink out of.

In many ways, Nepalese food culture and tourism/hospitality in Melbourne has brought Bhim both comfort and the familiarity of being back in Nepal, while he has been in Australia and continues to bring that feeling to many others migrating here.

When Bhim first came to Australia, he spoke of his migration to people as ‘only a visit’, a time for him to develop more hospitality skills before leaving and returning back home. When speaking about migration, Bhim said that people come to Australia now for so many different reasons and he feels like we all play a role in helping them to feel welcome, so that they too can possibly begin to feel at home. Now many years later, Bhim, remains in Australia, visiting his family in Nepal from time to time, and working with charities to raise money for those in need back in Nepal.

Back In Nepal, meal times for Bhim and his family, did not come too frequently. They didn’t eat breakfast, a tea and biscuit would suffice in early morning hours. For lunch they would all dine together at home and the same for dinner. A lot of the meals they ate at dinner time were able to be shared around the table, creating an atmosphere of closeness.

A photograph of Bhim's restaurant, Nirankar, in Melbourne's CBD.

Hem & Shabnam

Story by Laura Obradov

Captured above is the Nepal Dining Room's stall at the Queen Victoria Night Market.

Created by husband and wife Hem and Shabnam, the Nepal Dining room showcases the simplicity of Nepalese cuisine with a modern twist.

In early 2015, the duo opened their doors for the first in Malvern East, the product of 18 year’s experience in South Asian cooking. “We describe Nepalese cuisine as being simple, yet flavoursome, fresh, exotic, healthy and delicious.”

Growing up in South Asia, Shabnam expresses her desire to share authentic Nepalese food with a wider market, educating Melbournians on the region’s true food and culture.

Identifying a gap in the culinary market, Hem and Shabnam focus on the simplicity of Nepalese cooking. “There are too many Nepalese-Indian fusion restaurants…they have confused the market”.

“Nepal is rich in culture, tradition and food…most Melbourne restaurants don’t showcase a lot of popular dishes that are a huge part of Nepalese ethnic groups”.

A photograph of some of the quality dishes, prepared by the Nepal Dining Room.

The traditional Nepalese dish, Momo.

Shabnam reigns from the Limbu population, who are of Tibetan origin, indigenous to the mountainous regions of eastern Nepal.

She discusses how much of the menu owes its roots to the couple’s heritage. Her favourite dish on the menu, Pork Choila, is specifically signature to the Limbu people.

Traditional street food also accounts for a large portion of the menu, Shabnams favourites being Momo, Aloo Chop and Sekuwa; the dishes that you will find an abundance of in Nepal.

“Our vow is authenticity”, says Shabnam.

Not only do the duo succeed in creating a memorable culinary experience for customers in Malvern East, they are also regular participants at the Queen Victoria Night Market, Moomba Festival and St Kilda Twilight Market.

Pictured here are Hem, Shabnam and their son.

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