Momo, mon amour: A Nepali bill of fare — and affair

Chatpate , vegetable momo, chicken momo, pork momo, chowmein, and the like. Nothing unusual about the ubiquitous items on the bill of fare in any restaurant in and around Kathmandu. But wait. There’s something unusual.

It’s not Kathmandu, but Geneva — at Bunsnpice - Momo & More, a cosy eatery located near Lake Geneva, the Jet d'Eau and Plage des Eaux-Vives. On the door is a little message, accompanied by a rainbow flag, which reads: “Everyone is Welcome Here.” And to welcome everyone, Shakti Karki and Abhishek Pathak are there. Karki, 37, from Biratnagar, and Pathak, 31, from Birtamod, are a couple who have been running the establishment for the last four months in the Swiss city. Karki went to Switzerland to study in 2008.

After finishing his studies, he joined a company as an intern, received a job offer and started working there. He returned to Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when he met Pathak on Tinder, a dating app. But it was easier said than done.