We were running errands today and I suggested we try this Nepalese restaurant that I’ve been meaning to try for awhile (I say that a lot don’t I?), esp. since we’ve walked and driven by many dozens of times. We have had Nepalese food since the Nepalese restaurant in our neighborhood closed years ago and I have a certain soft spot for the food having done an amazing 5-week trek in Nepal back in 2001.
The main thing that drew us here was that we had hear that they had great momos (dumplings). We have always previously had chicken momos so we decided to try the pork momos here.
There were so many good looking dishes so we asked our waitperson for recommendations. He recommended the Shapta, a Tibetan dish which we had made with lamb, the fish tawa, and the kale chaat. This was going to be a pretty big lunch!
We both started with cocktails because why not? We both opted for mezcal based cocktails – Andrea had the Spicy Yeti and I had the Monkey Temple (hmmm, were we each unconsciously drawn by the name of the drink as expressions of our selves?). Andrea’s drink was made with citrus and serrano pepper and is probably the second spiciest cocktail she’s ever had (the spiciest being the first time we ate at Copra which sadly they toned down since). Mine had both mezcal and tequila (i’m going to need an afternoon nap…), chartreuse benedictine, lime, and dragon fruit…both were better than we would have expected and I very much enjoyed mine.
The lamb Shapta out first. It’s essentially a tibetan stir fry with onion, garlic, peppercorn, and chili served with a Tingmo (steamed bun) that you slice a piece off and stretch out. We weren’t very successful manipulating the bun successfully, but we ate it all the same. Some decent flavor, not subtle (this ain’t fine dining), but good and just a touch of heat.
Then came the momos. These didn’t disappoint and were very very good, in part due to the cumin-forward sauce. We decided next time we ate here we would order two orders of momos and try the other two (chicken and vegetarian) that we didn’t try this time.
Then came the fish tawa, which is grilled and seasoned with mustard powder, tumeric, and cumin in a tomato and Tibetan peppercorn sauce. The seasonings were all good, but had I realized it was going to be catfish (definitely not one of my favorites), I would opted for something else.
Lastly came the kale chaat. This was crisp batter fried kale stuffed/filled with yogurt along with mint, tamarind, onions, and tomato. It was a very different kind of dish and there was great texture from the crunchy kale. There was just a bit too much sweetness from the tamarind (and we both like tamarind).
All in all, it was a decent meal and there are a lot of other dishes on the menu that’d we’d like to try next time along with more momos!
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