I grew up on my dad's stories about
his beloved Darjeeling. Everything from the crisp air to the beautiful scenery,
fragrant tea and MOMOS!
Momo is a Tibetan specialty which seeped its way through the border into Nepal and therefore Darjeeling. It is a simple healthy dumpling dish which is steamed and served with spicy tomato dipping sauce. They are basically like “Baozi” and “Jiaozi”, if you are in a Chinese restaurant or “Gyoza” and “Nikuma”, if in a Japanese restaurant or even “Mandu” if you happen to dine in a Korean restaurant.
Momo is a Tibetan specialty which seeped its way through the border into Nepal and therefore Darjeeling. It is a simple healthy dumpling dish which is steamed and served with spicy tomato dipping sauce. They are basically like “Baozi” and “Jiaozi”, if you are in a Chinese restaurant or “Gyoza” and “Nikuma”, if in a Japanese restaurant or even “Mandu” if you happen to dine in a Korean restaurant.
My first memory of Momo was the first time my father took me
to Darjeeling. I had never been, so it was really a scene from out of one of
our romantic Bollywood movies. Mountains, green hills, slight fog and
just..beautiful. We were driving through the valleys with fragrant tea gardens
on either side of the road and stopped at this dilapidated.."hut".
There was a curtain for a door and it really looked like a run-down, old-school
dank bar - like the ones in the movies where shady deals are made.
Having grown up in Nigeria and restaurants being a way of
life, I, at the age of 12, turned my nose up and refused to go in. Spoilt
little girl (that's 12 year old me) sat in the car. My father, naturally, left
me there to wallow in my self-pity. Soon enough, the smell of hot sauce, noodle
soup (Thukpa) and those heavenly Momo's wafted my direction. I don't think I have ever apologized so
quickly to my Father for being such a spoilt brat and promptly sat down to
savour these dumpling jewels. That moment is forever ingrained in my memory and
every time I hear or read about a Nepalese restaurant opening in Geneva - I MUST
TRY IT! In pursuit of the perfect momo..sigh..or the "Darjeeling
momo".
This is where Himalayan Sherpa comes in. I saw a deal on one
of these "online shopping sites" for this restaurant. The picture of
this deal had Momos and spicy tomato sauce on the side. So, I promptly bought
this voucher and immediately booked a table. I did try to find out a bit about
the restaurant on Google, but failed miserably as there was no website to this
restaurant....my first sign to be worried.
My husband and I made a date out of this - dinner and a
movie - I was so excited only to get there and see a couple of locals sitting
outside a "restaurant" which was more like a café or a place you
might just have a beer and a conversation if there is no other choice. What I
noticed is that none of them were eating - my second cause for concern. Yes,
the alarm bells did go off, but I was reminded of my first "spoilt"
reaction to my little Darjeeling Momo Hut. So, I shook the worry from my head
and bravely stepped in.
A quick look at the menu and I had my 3rd cause for concern.
I couldn't see any of the specialties from Nepal - Momos yes...but that was it.
The rest was the usual North Indian food - Vindaloos, Naan, curries, Samosas
etc. Here is a restaurant advertising itself as a Nepalese restaurant only
because they happen to have Momos on their menu....
Being served our Momos after 20 minutes, I was expecting
fragrant pungent steam to escape when I poked into the little jewel bags;
instead, I receive a projectile of yellow oil onto my shirt. This is a NO NO!
The meat inside had been fried and tasted awfully.....aged. So extremely off
putting, I requested for some tomato spicy sauce so that I could drown these
"Momos" into it hoping to disguise the taste. The owner comes out to
say, "sorry, we don't serve this, we have only mint
chutney"....sigh.. He clearly noted the anger and confusion on my face and
then asked me where I come from. I said "Darjeeling" - in a clipped
tone. The surprise and worried look on his face said it all - my 4th and
winning cause for concern.
I left the "Momos" to swim in their oil
(naturally), reined my patience in and decided to order something else - my
trusted lamb Vindaloo with cheese and chilli naan. This has never failed
me....except for now. I received a ton
of gravy and maybe a table spoon of meat. One of the pieces of meat was pure
fat. The others must have come from a pre-historic goat as the meat was so
tough; it gave my jaw a thorough workout.
At this point, I was so hungry, I just ate what was in front of me....I
really REALLY shouldn't have. Let's just say I had to chew on 3- 4 Rennies
before my tummy forgave me.
So....if you ever pass by this restaurant..RUN THE OTHER
WAY.
