Rox rocks again

Many in Kathmandu’s expat and high society are familiar with Rox, the signature outlet of Hyatt Regency in Kathmandu. Many have taken refuge at Rox because after negotiating the notorious traffic jam at Chabahil intersection, you don’t want to head back to face that gauntlet again. Rox has been a place to chill, wait out with a drink in the company of friends. And if hunger builds up ask the sharp-looking waiters for the menu.

However, now that Rox is offering a new menu with pure Italian cuisine, the restaurant may actually be a destination in itself that is worth crossing over to the other part of town for.

This is Italian at its best: flavours, taste, smells, but healthy at the same time. The vegetables and herbs are grown at the Hyatt’s own organic patch, while the dough for pasta, spaghetti and pizza are hand-made in house.

"We make almost 85% of ingredients in the restaurant, it helps to maintain consistency," explains Dhiraj Khadka, Sous Chef of Hyatt Regency.   

Rox now goes beyond its famous pasta fare to include homemade spinach and ricotta ravioli, truffle mushroom sauce. The ravioli is munchy, the spinach soft, and the cheese melts in the mouth.

Another new dish in the pasta menu is the seafood linguine, which despite Nepal’s landlockedness, is surprisingly fresh and comes imbued with rich organic tomato flavor, and pasta made with in-house dough that transports us straight to the sea-front trattoria in Rimini.  

In the main course, two dishes that seem popular are oven baked Tuscan-style whole Himalayan rainbow trout and duck breast, pumpkin purée, fava bean ragout. I will not attempt to describe the taste, suffice to say that it hits the spot.

The whole trout is first grilled and baked with herbs, and the large chunks of duck meat and vegetables make a for unique combination of fish, bird and plant. The duck is served with pumpkin sauce and fava beans, and sauce, while a little sweet, complements the combo.

Tiramisù and cassata are two new deserts that is already popular with Rox regulars. The tiramisu is also made in the restaurant, and the layers of pistachio-canilla-strawberry ice-cream patterned after the green-white-red Italian flag in the cassata makes you want to stand up, sing the Il Canto degli Italiani and give it a salute. The nuts and marshmallows give the dish a welcome added bite.  

For vegetarians and the health-conscious the Rox’s most inviting parts are the crunchy and fresh organic vegetables. You can actually taste the goodness. Family and friends can have dinner from 6pm to 10 pm. With a show kitchen, wood-oven and pure Italian cuisine the Rox is no longer just a stopover, or a place to wait for the traffic to die down.