Pokhara: Gluten free bread at Madhav’s
When you visit Pokhara, chances are you’ll end up in Lakeside, the backpacking district. Somewhere close to the lake is Madhav’s bakery located. Complete name: Madhav’s organic bakery and coffee shop. It is a small place, but the sign on the front is not to miss: Gluten free bread and cakes, which will trigger any celiacs internal alarm system.
At this bakery they sell baguettes made with buckwheat flour, and gluten free muffins and cheesecake! The latter I did not taste since the butter ‘situation’ doesn’t agree with me. While we visit Pokhara, working and preparing for our short hike, we have breakfast here every day. At this point we are traveling for about a month and a half and this is the first time I can eat bread again. It tastes really good, freshly baked bread!
My favourite breakfast: ‘complete breakfast’. 300 rupiah (2,50 USD). Normally served with butter and cheese. When I told during my first visit I did not want any, I got something else, like jam and hummus! You also get fresh apple- or orange juice, depending the season. Madhav makes this gluten free bread every couple of days, so its tastes especially good when it’s fresh. You can choose other menu’s with fried potatoes and veggies if you prefer.
German baker
Long, long time ago, Madhav started working the trade in Germany. He heard the similarities between Dutch and German when we were talking and asked where we came from. Marnix can actually speak some German, I can stutter ‘hello’ and for some reason say ‘butterfly’ in German. Madav has travelled between Nepal and Germany for years and got his diploma as a baker in Germany. I liked this, because our neighbouring country has strict hygienic laws when it concerns food, which Madhav knows. He actually understands the gluten free diet and I did never have ‘incidents’ even though I’m very sensitive.
Wanna visit yourself? Here you find Madhav’s Facebook page, including the address of his bakery in Pokhara.
Uneasy
So, I’ve known little fear while visiting this normally frightening place. I kind of assumed things were trim in the kitchen.
But once I felt uneasy: when the baker himself was absent and his young assistants were running the place. I saw my baguette come indecently close to Marnix’ bread and wiped it down a bit… Or ordering a sandwich and asking what exactly was served with it. Turned out ‘only vegetables’ was actually vegetables and mayonnaise. No big deal, because they make this with egg, salt, vinegar and oil, but you get the picture. Not great, to be on guard in this way. To avoid this kind of nonsense we decided to only have breakfast here. In the afternoon, Madhav goes home, because at 4:00 AM he has to get up and bake bread. He knows the diet and when he is around and involved, all is well.