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Led by an enterprising team of hospitality managers, pictured, Niathu Resort in Dimapur offers customers the best of Naga food and hospitality. (Caisii Mao)[/caption]
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, July 13: Spread across five acres at 7th Mile in Dimapur is the Niathu Resort where one will get to experience the beauty and the best of Nagaland's food and hospitality. With the resort located beside the Chathe River, patrons and tourists can indulge in various luxurious facilities being provided there.
Nestled among the lush green estate of the resort is the Naga Machang, a restaurant that serves only Naga cuisine to guests.
Introduced in December 2017 as part of the Niathu offering, the Naga Machang proves to be a budget-friendly restaurant with food items that do not merely comprise pork and chicken. Head chef Asano Rio prepares for her guests an array of dishes. The menu includes assorted gourmet creations from green vegetables sourced from local markets and districts of Nagaland.
Anthony Nilli Chasteii, general manager of the Niathu Group and Niathu management, said that a lot of tourists who stay at the resort are astounded by the variety of vegetable produce that the Naga people have.
“As a hospitality leader, the Niathu Group takes the opportunity to showcase the cultures and traditions to tourists and we want to expose every aspect of it,” Chasteii said.
The Naga Machang serves popular Naga dishes that have a touch of the Naga tribes’ cuisines, he informed. From chicken with perilla to beef innards and the very popular smoked pork with fermented soya bean, chef Asano leaves no room for her guests to be dissatisfied with her food.
Rio was a finalist of the cooking competition Naga Chef, season one. She informed that the team also customise the menu for customers according to their taste and preferences.
Further, the Naga Machang plans to have mothers come and cook together as a community building exercise and also learn different recipes from one other, the chef informed.
The resort houses eight Alpine chalet-style cottages, a presidential villa, a swimming pool, conference room, two restaurants and a cafe that has various facilities.
Chasteii said that the team tries to make sure there is minimum waste. Even when buying vegetables and meat for the restaurant, the team does not buy in bulk so that they don’t get spoiled or wasted.
Apart from hiring local artisans and craftsmen to get woodwork and interiors done, the team also hands out to their guests gift mementos made by local artisans. This is also a way to promote local entrepreneurs, the general manger said.