Note- Not particularly well air-conditioned, especially in the back. Momo comes with 8 per order…read moreRecommendations: Momo (jhol, chili, and kothay in order,) beef sukuti, laphing, egg chowmein, and sel roti
Less recommended: Bhatmas sadeko, duck sekuwa, and goat hyakula
I went to this Nepali spot with 5 others around a week ago, where we had a good meal with some issues. First, it was very hot that day, and the back of the main room didn't have an air conditioner that was working properly. Second, while the servers were friendly, there were service issues, including a couple of dishes not being what we ordered, and one dish being very late. The former was even more annoying as the waitress repeated back what I had ordered. In terms of drinks, I got a butter tea regardless of the heat, as well as a Diet Coke later, and we got some food soon.
From the appetizers, we quickly got our two orders of their Sel Roti, a rice doughnut with a spicy dipping sauce, which were $2 each. I have had this before in a couple of other Nepali spots, and by comparison, these were larger and a bit more oily. The texture was crispy and soft with a bit of pleasant sweetness. I would personally recommend one for every four people or so.
There were also two orders of the alright $6 Bhatmas Sadeko, or marinated soybean salad with spices, onion, green chili, garlic, and a bit of lemon juice. This had a fun, crunchy texture and a nice spicy aftertaste, but the flavor was only OK overall.
The favorite of the appetizers was their excellent take on Laphing, or spicy cold noodles made from mung beans. For $7, this came out to $1 per piece. The chewy texture of the mung bean paired wonderfully with the filling consisting of wai wai, a crunchy instant noodle, and a mix of herbs. This dish had a good kick as well.
Next came all the momo. In general, they were plump with a soft texture on the outside and were generously filled, and I can see very easily why they've won the momo crawl year after year. The first momo that arrived was the Beef Chili Momo for $13, which was a mistake as I had asked for the standard steamed version. Regardless, I liked the chili version, which had a bit of spiciness and some sweetness. I would say, though, that I prefer the chili momo from Kasthmandap, which has even more depth of flavor.
My favorite of the bunch, and our favorite dish of the night, was the Paneer Jhol Momo for $12. The broth was wonderfully complex, and the soft, crumbly paneer inside was delicious. I would highly recommend these either in paneer or other forms.
Last were the $13 Shrimp Kothay Momo, with "kothay" meaning pan-fried. These resembled and tasted closest to an overly large pot-sticker and were tasty, but our least favorite. This dish had another service issue, as the inside was very likely not shrimp, as it resembled a large meatball.
We otherwise mostly got Nepalese BBQ, which was a mixed bag, with one of the dishes being one of the best of the night, while we disliked the others. Best of the bunch was easily the $18 Beef Sukuti, listed as homemade jerky made from lean meat, slowly dried to lock in flavor. This was one of the best versions of this dish I've had, with the beef having a wonderful mix of dry and soft textures. I would recommend this heavily.
The other 2 BBQ dishes were served similarly and were easily our least favorite things. The dishes were the $18 Duck Sekuwa and the $19 Goat Hyakula, and both were served similarly with some beaten rice, pickles, and some more of the sauce which came with the sel roti. While some pieces of each of them were flavorful, albeit dry, others were composed virtually entirely of fat. We disliked the texture overall, with a slight preference from the group going to the sekuwa.
Last was the Egg Chowmein for $12, listed as stir-fried noodles with protein, Nepali vegetables, and spices. This dish was taking a very long time to come out, and I eventually asked as everyone was getting hot whether it was ready, and our waitress asked if we wanted it to stay or to go, and that it would take another 10 minutes. A good 20 minutes later, the very large portion arrived. Outside of the hassle, the flavors were decent, and the noodles had a bit of wok hei.
If I were to judge this place solely on the momo, the sukuti, and the laphing while ignoring service, I'd easily bump this place up. However, there were a couple of other dishes we disliked, and the service actively made our meal a bit worse by giving us the wrong food. If you can put up with these issues, I would still recommend this place.