I’ll just say like it is: you’ve waited for your meals at the cheel for what seemed like forever, right? You started getting antsy, and hungry, and maybe the kids were getting a little whiny (but maybe that’s just my kid when they’re hungry?) You started to think, “What on Earth is taking so long?” And maybe you started to even get upset with us at the cheel.
Now multiply by 5 - about the average number of tickets we have at any given time on weekends.
Let me start by saying this: we make each meal individually. We do not use steam table for everything or pre-cook them. When you order the Ema Dhatsi (Bhutanese cheese soup), we sauté the potatoes, peppers, and onion, add brie cheese let it melt, then serve it with a hint of cracked peppercorn. All the while the Tibetan steamed bun is steaming in the steamer. Did I mention it is just one of the soups? Let’s talk vegetarian thali –
Process after the order comes in:
· Start simmering the tarkari in a pan with paneer
· Start sautéing cauliflower on another pan
· Start sautéing veggies for the shan noodles. Add the bean noodles and bring it up to temp. drizzle some soy sauce
Start plating and expediting:
· Plate the saffron basmati rice
· Squeeze the classic aachar, kenema aachar and ghew (clarified butter) in individual cups
· Get the dal (lentil soup) requested
· Put each of the items on the plate
· Garnish each of them individually:
o Put peanuts and cilantro microgreen on the noodles
o Put chopped cilantro on the cauliflower tarkari
o Put cilantro microgreen on the paneer tarkari – WALLA! It is ready to be taken to serve to the guest.
Did I say this is just one dish? Now imagine this; there are at least few more dishes that the table has ordered if not more. Some of our dishes need four different kitchen equipment to finish: fryer, oven, stove-top and salamander. All timed perfectly together with all the other dishes to be sent out.
No, I cannot change our items served to something simpler as it won’t be us. I remember growing up in Nepal when every meal took two to three hours to prepare. It won’t be the same if we start cutting corners to serve faster. Additionally, my mom would kill me if I represented our food in any other way than imperfectly perfect.
We do mention it on the first page of our menu - "We take pride in our fresh & made from scratch food. Please note that during high volume hours, wait time for any dish may exceed 45 minutes." However, this message somehow get overlooked again and again.
We take the time, the care, and the expertise to lovingly hand-craft your meal to perfection (and when I am expediting food, I have been known to send a dish back to the line if I don’t like the way it looks).
I promise you – I swear – that we are not deliberately making you wait. We are not playing some unpleasant psychological game with you. We are carefully, lovingly, meticulously creating each experience for you that we hope you leave from not only pleasantly full from our delicious kitchen creations and craft cocktails, but also full of fabulous conversation, good music, and an all-around excellent experience!
Please be patient; I assure you that our food is worthy of your wait.