Nepal’s first all-plant-based joint and a franchise by India’s GoodDot, Mr. Corn is now promoting vegan culture in Nepal
With branches now in Lubhu, Manigram and Butwal, Mr. Corn provides plant-based options for Vegans in Nepal, specialising in Corn, as the franchise’s name alludes to. Its branch in Lubhu, where Nepal Traveller went for food review earlier this week, is a two-storey building with indoor and outdoor dining options. Their interiors, exteriors and furniture are all decorated with colours of green and yellow, provocative of the image of corn. The kitchen is located at the ground storey, transparent to view by all customers dining in the open space.
“Due to the COVID-19 setback, we had to close down our Kathmandu branches and as of now only operate from Lubhu,” said Nischal Joshi, the owner of the Lubhu Branch of Mr. Corn and the director of the franchise. The Lubhu branch of Mr. Corn is now in its fourth year. Of course, facing a pandemic right after opening the restaurant was not ideal for business, but now that things are back to normal and people are getting back to their day-to-day livelihood, Mr. Corn is also planning to expand to other places in Kathmandu. “We are currently looking for places in Baneshwor and Boudha for our next branch and plan on reviving Mr. Corn soon,” Joshi added.
We were served five dishes at Mr Corn, all plant-based and with corn. We started with their popular combo set—Corn Fritter, Vegan Nuggets, Vegan Nuggets Chilly, Veg Bite Choila and Corn Mo;Mo. The nuggets were made of vegan chicken substitutes, packaged at GoodDot itself, the Choila, MoMo and Fritter, on the other hand, are a result of their own undertaking. The Nuggets and Choila are perfectly replicated substitutes for meat. If you recently quit meat and are looking for a substitute, we encourage you to try Mr Corn.
The mo:mo tastes like any other good mo:mo you can find in the city but with a delightful corny twist where the element of improvisation comes in to create a great MoMo experience. Their platter also comes with three different dips, all of which go well in their own tangy, spicy or sweet way with the dishes in the combo.
Another popular dish at Mr Corn is their Corn Burger, which was undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best, veg burgers in town. The vegan meat patty with the corn is a great improvisation for veg burgers and a game-changing experience. The spread has the perfect amount of tanginess to compliment the patty without jarring your taste buds. The burger alone made the trip to Lubhu worth it.
Corn Chatpate is one of Mr. Corn’s signature dishes and their improvisation of Chatpate- a popular Nepali snack. The chatpate, unlike your regular chatpate, is loaded with a great amount of spices and choppings of chilly, onion and tomato. Apart from that, Mr Corn uses corn instead of Bhuja (puffed rice). The lack of raw noodles also makes Corn Chatpate a much healthier alternative.
Their corn dishes are not limited to just the spicy chatpate. American Corn, a sweet deep-fried and coated variety of corn, is another popular dish at Mr Corn. It is the perfect appetiser to order when you enter the restaurant. Personally, this was the second-best dish at Mr Corn after their burger. The overwhelming creamy, crunchy and sweet taste makes for a really perfect blend in your taste buds.
All in all, vegan or not, you need to visit Mr Corn at least once if you are a fan of good food. If you are vegan, you would be missing out on A LOT if you do not visit Mr Corn.
Saaid Koirala
Photos by: Bidyash Dangol
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