The ultimate hangout place for anime lovers

Four best friends in their late 20s, all huge fans of Japanese film and television animation, more popularly known as anime, had a brainwave sometime in 2018. With so many followers of anime in Nepal, they thought, why don’t they come together to open the country’s first anime-themed restaurant? Thus did Kyubi’s Kitchen came into being in Jhamsikhel on 31 Dec 2018. The quartet of Pawan Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet, Sujana Limbu and Bhisma Rai had named the restaurant after a popular character in the anime Naruto. The restaurant is especially designed for the Otakus (a Japanese term for people with obsessive inter­est in anime). Growing up watching various anime series, the four best friends used to often think about the characters on display: their attires, their language, and especially about their food. The delicacies they were having looked simply delicious.

 

Says Pawan Gurung, “Earlier, we used to have conversations on the foods shown in anime. We wanted to taste them. We also had many que­ries: did the foods really exist? And if they did, were they only available in Japan?” And what if potentially thousands of anime lovers in Nepal were asking exactly the same ques­tions? “If they were, why not give them a place where they could find some answers?”

 

On the ground floor of the restau­rant is a cafe themed after a Japa­nese dark fantasy anime “Tokyo Ghoul” while occupying the upper two floors is a restaurant themed after “Naruto”. The café is a cozy, air-conditioned room with shelves filled with books related to its theme. It serves a wide variety of bespoke cakes and pastries as well as some refreshing varieties of tea and coffee.

 

Tucked by the side of the café is the main entryway to the restau­rant upstairs. The anime vibe is everywhere: the small lay tables, the cushions, the paintings, they are all designed with Naruto themes. And the menu is presented in a scroll.

 

The third floor has an open terrace sitting arrangement. (A fourth floor is planned for private celebrations.)

 

On to food then, which at Kyubi’s Kitchen is a fusion of Japanese and Nepali platters. The goal is to serve the foods shown in anime. Most of the ingredients are Japanese, but with an added Nepali touch. The main dish is ramen and the restau­rant allows you to design your own. You can choose between different types of noodles, broths, toppings, seasonings, and chili levels. A few new dishes are added to the menu every month not to let repeat-cus­tomers get bored.

 

If you go there, don’t miss Kyu­bi’s Surprise, a combination of the restaurant’s main dishes, which is delectable. Flying Raijin level 2 (Corndogs), Odama Rasengan, (Giant momos), Katon:Ryuka No Jutsu (Honey glazed spicy chicken wings) are some other tempting dishes on offer.

 

The owners say they plan to expand the franchise to other places in Kathmandu soon.

 

The café at Jhamsikhel opens at 8:30 am while the restau­rant opens at 12 noon (except on Tuesdays)