Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Food of The Kingdom of Bhutan




Punakha Dzong





It was last October that the king of Bhutan got married, I remember being captivated by the beautiful clothes and pretty countryside it provided a rare glimse into this most isolated of countries. Around this time Patricia commented on the Chow and Chatter facebook wall she was going!, I always enjoy Patricia's comments and conversation and finally last night I asked to see pictures and asked for a guest post. She's a busy lady and doesn't blog but has a facebook page for food and shares my passion for food, travel and culture. Here's a wonderful treat a look at the delightful food of Bhutan thanks so much Patricia means the world to me.



 Thank you for the invite to do a guest post. In November of 2011, I travelled to the Kingdom of Bhutan. I am a friend of the King of Bhutan, we met while students together at JFK School of Government at Harvard University in 2005 (he was Crown Prince and I was doing post-graduate studies after law school). He invited his classmates to visit him in Bhutan. I began my plans in 2006, working with a local friend, Margrit Elliot, who has a non-profit that takes medical burn teams to Bhutan to volunteer their services in the country. She kindly arranged for me to lecture in the capital city of Thimphu, Bhutan at the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, in an area of law called intellectual property and more specifically, cultural resource protection. (A lecture I am also doing this July in Vienna, Austria at the International Congress of the Americanists). I love cooking and food and focused several of my travel photos on the foods of the Kingdom of Bhutan and brought back one Bhutanese cookbook. I consumed at least eight fresh vegetables daily, drank tea six times a day, and walked along trails, up mountains and saw so much beauty!








Rice at Weekend Market
 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.




small fruit and vegetable market in the city 

Chiles and ginger, weekend market, Thimphu, Bhutan.




lemons and limes. weekend market
 — inThimphu, Bhutan.









Dal (lentil soup), spinach, rice, green chilis with cheese, potatoes with cheese and pickled chilis. Offered at the Taksang Cafeteria, half-way point up to Tiger's Nest Monastery, Paro, Bhutan.



Hummus in bowl, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and steamed dumplings. Lunch at Ambient Cafe, Thimphu, Bhutan.



in the green leaves Yak Butter and cheese




 Prayer flags 


Fresh fruit salad, dinner at a private residence in Thimphu, Bhutan. Apples are the star points. Fruit cocktail is the center with fresh mango, papaya and red cherries.





Chiles in weekend market
 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.



Swiss cheese 


Dried fish at weekend market
 — in Thimphu, Bhutan.



These are BBQ salmon eggs a custom of her husbands Native American tribe I just had to share this as it looks so tasty 


The wonderful and cultured Patricia Paul, be sure to like her facebook page Aqiimuk Nikniaktuk - the name of her facebook page translates Aqiimuk is cooking. Aqiimuk is my Inupiaq name (a name given at birth and passed from generation to generation). Patricia's heritage is Inupiaq (northern Alaskan Eskimo on my mother's side and of English/Danish descent on my father's side). Maybe we can persuade her to share some of her native recipes one day with us, be sure to comment :-). 

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40 comments:

  1. What a wonderful post, I enjoyed all of the photos. I will be sure to check out her facebook pages. You know I love exploring and learning of other cultures, food and travel. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. This is a lovely post. I can't say enough good things about it. Thank you to Patricia for sharing with us.

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  3. I want to go to Bhutan!

    I am going to have to try to find some Bhutan recipes to put on my blog - http://gourmetglobal.blogspot.com

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  4. What a great insight into a beautiful place! That cheese is...well...that cheese. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I will check out her facebook page.

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  6. What an interesting post! Thank you. I am unlikely ever to see Bhutan in person so I'm very grateful to have this opportunity to do a little armchair traveling.

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  7. The fresh fruit salad looks tasty!

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  8. Really interesting post. Their love of cheese is quite curious and such a healthy diet too. Thanks patricia and rebecca.

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  9. How lovely! I'd be in lemon and lime heaven :)

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  10. beautiful pictures the market looks wonderful

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  11. Loving the market photos, thank you for the glimpse.

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  12. What a wonderful post, Rebecca. Many thanks to Particia!

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  13. I thoroughly enjoyed this post! How wonderful to see the food of Bhutan and what a wonderful experience for her to travel there for the King's wedding.

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  14. this was so fun to read! the food looks great!

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  15. A place I always wanted to visit. Always enjoyed bhutan food.. my all time fav MOMO :)

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  16. Thank you all for your wonderful comments!

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  17. I very much enjoyed my travels to the Kingdom of Bhutan! I was fortunate to travel with a friend who has taken 22 trips to Bhutan, to conduct medical missions, her most recent ones are to take medical teams to do reconstructive surgery on burn victims. So, my trip allowed me to meet several of the officials in the government in the health care field. The resorts were lovely, the food so very tasty and the scenery and stories from another time. You can locate my personal facebook page through my email, which is patriciapauljd at msn dot com or my cooking facebook page, titled, Aqiimuk Nikniaktuk.

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  18. Wow-great post! You know so many incredible people Rebecca, and I love learning more about the people and food from other cultures. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. pleasure always love finding cool things to share

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  19. This is probably my very first time to see pictures of Bhutan other than touristy pictures. It was interesting and fun. Thank you for sharing Rebecca!

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  20. This is a dream destination for me! Thanks for taking me there in your pics. :)

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  21. Andi thanks so much for stopping by would also love to go :0)

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