Kathmandu, Sept. 29 -- Deepak Bajracharya remembers the time he ate snake in Hong Kong. It was long ago, he says, when he was just starting out as a musician and it was his first trip abroad. Bajracharya and a bunch of musicians were partying in their hotel room when a friend went out to get some food, and came back with a container full of chopped snake meat. Bajracharya, a little drunk and in search of something salty, scooped up the pieces and ate them all before he knew what it was.

It's not a particularly special story but Bajracharya tells it with earnestness. It's just the kind of person he is. The story comes spontaneously, as we peruse the menu at Roadhouse in Jhamsikhel. We decide on a simple pizza and order coffee, while Bajra...