Chili Loaded BHUTANESE FOOD + Punakha Cultural Festival | Punakha, Bhutan

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After an unbelievable first day in Bhutan, I was ready to do it all again on day two! Come along with me as I try more chili loaded Bhutanese food and go back to the Punakha Cultural Festival!
My morning began at the Drubchhu Resort in Punakha, where I enjoyed a spicy breakfast of egg curry, a chili salsa called ezay, and fried rice. The egg curry was light, like a watered-down soup-like curry, but it was full of flavor! It wasn’t too hot, though.
The fried red rice (which also contained chilies) was amazing with the curry. The ezay was unreal. It was like a spicy veggie salad with cheese. I added more curry over the rice, which was amazing. It doesn’t get more traditional than this here in Bhutan! I could taste the influences from both India and China in the food.
I also got some suja, which is salty butter tea, and some black coffee with no sugar.
Then, I met up with Tsheten and Nidup from MyBhutan to head to the festival! On the way, I got out of the car to get an amazing view of the two rivers meeting in the foreground, with the fortress behind them.
Then, we continued on to the fortress. Across from it was a pop-up mini market that sells food and souvenirs to people visiting the festival. I could see peanuts, noodles, wine containers, and more!
Inside the fortress, I got to see several traditional music and dance performances where the performers wore beautiful, colorful costumes and masks. There were about 3,000-4,000 spectators. There was a section for tourists to watch from, and the rest of the fortress was for locals.
Tsheten took me to the monastic area, which is mainly for the monks. There are about 400-500 monks living there. The architecture was stunning and extremely colorful. There were vibrant depictions of dragons, snow lions, and more carved everywhere, as well as script in Sanskrit. There’s an on-site shrine and a temple and golden doors, through which they coronated Bhutan’s first king in December of 1907.
Inside the main shrine is a statue of the Buddha and the unifier who unified Bhutan, who was a Tibetan scholar.
Then, we headed to get some lunch at the resort, which consisted of dried beef with chilies and rice noodles, an ema dashti made from red chilies, cauliflower with cheese, and white rice from India. The broth from the ema dashti was super spicy!
The dried beef with noodles super chewy but full of fat and flavor. The ema dashti was really good as well and not as hot as the one with green chilies. I also loved the cauliflower. The cheese was almost completely liquid, so it wasn’t gooey at all.
I suggest mixing the ema dashti with the rice, which is so good! I also went back for more beef with noodles, which was way more tender than my first bite. These chilies aren’t hot right away. They sneak up on you and make your lips tingle! The green chilies are way too hot, though!
I also loved that Bhutanese cuisine contained a lot of vegetables. The cauliflower was my favorite. The ema dashti was better than yesterday’s because it wasn’t nearly as hot. The dried beef was good, but it was a little too tough and rubbery for me. If you love veg and spice, this is the country for you!
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About Me:
My name is David Hoffmann. For the last 12 years, I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food, and history! Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,100 destinations in 77 countries, which I welcome you to check out on my TH-cam channel, travel blog, and social media sites.
I focus a great deal on food and historical sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning about the local history and culture.
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