If you are going on a pilgrimage/trekking/tour to Nepal soon, there are many interesting Himalayan food you may wish to discover. Get a glimpse of what Nepal can entice you through Greg Cox:
BY GREG COX
CorrespondentJanuary 1, 2015
There’s the remote location, for starters. And Nepal’s breathtaking scenery: pagoda-roofed Buddhist temples 4 miles above sea level, Sherpas leading expeditions up the face of Mount Everest. The very phrase “Nepalese food” conjures up a sense of extreme adventure that has you ready for anything – even the yak butter tea that you read somewhere is a hallmark of the cuisine.
Not that you really expect to find yak butter tea on the menu at Himalayan Nepali Cuisine, an unassuming strip-mall eatery that opened in April in Cary, joining a cluster of ethnic shops and restaurants that has in recent years become something of a cultural United Nations. What you do expect, based on experience at the two Nepalese restaurants that have previously opened locally (Durbar 84 in Durham, since closed; and Kabab & Curry in Raleigh), is a modest sampling of Nepalese specialties, backed up by an ample selection of reassuringly familiar dishes from Nepal’s southern neighbor, India.
That’s just what Amar and Sangita Karki, the restaurant’s husband-and-wife owners, deliver. (She does the cooking, while he greets customers and waits tables with an eager-to-please attitude and an ever-present shy smile).
The names of Nepalese dishes may not be as familiar to most of us as, say, lamb korma or chicken tikka masala, but the food is every bit as accessible. Momo – steamed dumplings with a moderately spiced filling of minced chicken or vegetables – are no more challenging to the Western palate than their Chinese or Japanese counterparts, and every bit as tasty. The most exotic element of the presentation is the achar, a spicy pickle that in theory is supposed to accompany the momo. I say “in theory” because the achar was AWOL when I ordered the dish.
Chow chow noodle soup (also called thukpa) is Nepal’s answer to ramen noodle soup, amped up with ginger and dried chile, and topped with a generous scattering of chopped scallion and cilantro. The basic chow chow packs plenty of flavor, but you can choose from half a dozen embellishments ranging from egg to shrimp to lamb.
Nepali chicken (no native name is given for this one) turns out to be a deep bronze curry of bone-in chicken, similar to the familiar northern Indian curry but with a more garlicky flavor. You can order the dish (and most anything else on the menu, for that matter) as hot or as mild as you like. To go with the chicken, try the Nepalese corn bread. A spongy flatbread flecked with fresh herbs, it’s an adventurous change of pace from the usual naan.
A handful of vegetable dishes – including Himalayan dal fry (a savory lentil stew topped with caramelized onion threads) and tarkari (a thoroughly cooked mixed vegetable curry) – pretty much round out the Nepalese part of the menu. Or so I thought, until I spotted an entire menu category devoted to chow mein, and asked Amar Karki about it. Turns out the Nepalese have their own take on the Chinese noodle dish, combining spices and techniques of Indian and Chinese cuisines.
The chow mein proved to be my favorite dish of all I sampled at Himalayan Nepali Cuisine – and to think I almost didn’t order it because it seemed so out of place. Sangita Karki prepares it six different ways, of which her husband says chicken and goat (he’ll warn you to watch for bones) are the most traditional.
The kitchen stumbles occasionally – doughy-battered chile pakoras and unevenly cooked naan come to mind – but you’re inclined to be forgiving in a mom-and-pop shop where the most expensive item on the menu is $11.99.
The furnishings in the compact dining room are correspondingly modest, though a colorful mix of folk art, Buddhist prayer flags and panoramic travel posters on vermillion walls makes for a cheery setting. On the back wall, a decent selection of bottled beers (including an IPA from Rail House in Aberdeen and a couple of Indian brews) chills in a large beverage cooler. The wine selection, on the other hand, is downright skeletal: two reds, two whites, all Mondavi.
Of course, you could always go with a mango lassi. Or a frothy, spice-fragrant Himalayan chai might hit the spot on a chilly night.
But sorry, no yak butter tea.
HIMALAYAN NEPALI CUISINE746-A E. Chatham St., Cary
919-466-0550
himalayannepalicuisine.com
Cuisine: Nepalese, Indian
Rating:* * 1/2
Prices: $-$$
Atmosphere: modestly furnished, casual and cheery
Noise level: low
Service: friendly and eager to please; can get overwhelmed
Recommended: chow chow soup, Nepali chicken, chow mein, Himalayan dal fry
Open: Lunch and dinner daily
Reservations: accepted
Other: beer and wine; accommodates children; good vegetarian selection; parking in lot.
The N&O’s critic dines anonymously; the newspaper pays for all meals. We rank restaurants in five categories: * * * * * Extraordinary * * * * Excellent.
* * * Above average. * * Average. * Fair.
The dollar signs defined:$ Entrees average less than $10. $$ Entrees $11 to $16. $$$ Entrees $17 to $25. $$$$ Entrees more than $25.
Read more here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/01/01/4437905_restaurant-review-himalayan-nepali.html?&rh=1#storylink=cpy[email protected] or newsobserver.com/mouthful
Read more here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/01/01/4437905_restaurant-review-himalayan-nepali.html?&rh=1#storylink=cpy