In years past, Dine Out Vancouver was left exclusively for the finer dining restaurants, as a way to get an affordable taste. However, as Vancouver’s food culture grew so did the festival inviting the city to come out and dine out post holidays. In 2024 the 2.5 week event is now seeing a wider pool of establishments participating with a larger spectrum of menus. Case in point is the new Momo Hut on Fraser.
They have been open for 9 months now and are using Dine Out as a way to garner more attention from the city. From the owners of the First and oldest Nepalese restaurant, Katmandu. They originally opened in 2005 and are now closed, so Momo Hut is picking up where they left off, as a source for authentic Nepalese cuisine.
For those like me, who have not tried and have very little experience in anything Nepalese, the cuisine can be best described as Indian with influences from their neighbours in China. The best way to learn more is to try it for yourself. And Momo Hut is giving you a very good reason to do so, with the best priced Dine Out menu at $20 for 3 courses. They are the only restaurant with a $20 menu and regardless of how much we liked or didn’t like it, for the price alone this was a steal of a deal and worth checking out. You can’t even get a fast food burger combo with fries and a soft drink for $20, let alone such an ethnic experience.
The restaurant is kept fairly bright as an eatery with booths and lounge style seats set with couches and lower standing tables. Traditional melodic music and a colourful cartoon mural of Nepalese landscape set the tone for a casual night out.
They offer a smaller selection of beer and wine for drinks, but when given the option we all gravitated to either their mildly gingery chai or a refreshing mango lassi for an accompanying beverage. I, myself went with the latter and found it offered a great deal of reprieve from some of the more punchy, lingering flavours.
The advertised menu lists only 2 options for the appetizers, entrees, and desserts. However dining in today, a few days before the launch of Dine Out Vancouver, the owner revealed he would be offering those coming down a third option for the former two, plus some additional addaons to be able to try a greater variety of their cuisine.
Given their name you would assume they would start out strong with momos for appetizers, and that they did. All momos, prepared and seasoned 3 different ways.
The Crunchy Veg Momo is a deep fried dumpling stuffed with cabbage, tofu, and soy bean, done traditional Nepalese style. It has an amazingly satisfying crunch, although what you taste is the deep garlicky spice from the aioli dip on the side, which includes a gentle dull tingle that lingers.
The meat option is the same dumpling shell and breading, but stuffed with chicken and green onion instead. Once again the flavour comes from the side sauce and the difference is in the texture from crisp vegetable to a fibrous minced meat. Given the choice between the two I preferred the Crunchy Veg Momo.
However when choosing the course, my vote goes to the not advertised momo option. This was actually specifically created for Dine Out and we would be the firsts to try it. This is their Afghani Malai Momo, their dumplings steamed and drenched in a creamy Alfredo-like white sauce. Available in either Panner or vegetable filing. I preferred the latter for the chewy texture it added to the saucy bite. The cream was so tasty that I suggested they have it over rice with chicken as an entree as well.
All their dumplings are served with a platter of additional sauces. Tomato and turmeric, cilantro and sesame, and chilli oil. Nice to have, but not necessary given how flavourful everything was. The red chilli was accented with a horseradish smoke. I didn’t find it all that complimentary and more so overpowering. The green sauce was similar to the Indian style cilantro dip, but more cream-base and it had less of a citrusy herbal tang. And the yellow sauce was more creamy garlic with very little personality form the red fruit.
And if one order of 3 dumplings isn’t enough, you can look to get a little more with their Momo Sampler platter deal. $6 for 6 more and 3 new flavours to explore. The Tandoori paneer momo had plenty of smokey spices that you couldn’t hide. So bold that I looked to the cucumber and carrot garnish for chase. Out of the 3 this was the most unique, I have never had a tandoori dumpling else where.
The Szechuan vegetable was the most flavourful of the bunch, but sadly I did not get a taste, due to the limited quantity for the table.
The Chicken chilli was spicy and familiar to that of a Chinese style stir fry with sweet peppers. Although I felt the vegetable would have been better suited with the Szechuan dumplings above.
After this experience, I hope they have the option on their regular menu to pick your momo and its filling, to choose how it is prepared (fried or steamed), and then what sauces and toppings it is dressed in.
As for entrees your first choice is only available on the Dine Out menu. A Sprouted 9 Beans Curry served with rice and salad. The recipe originated from the high altitude mountains of Kathmandu. There, it is cold with minimum heating, so in order to keep warm they look to the right proteins to help, and this dish is their solution.
The curry features germinated beans that are mixed, dried, and then soaked until they start to sprout. This result is healthier beans that are hearty in addition to tomato, onions, ginger, and garlic. I loved the history and the authenticity, but not the taste. I found it overly salted, and the texture ashy. You could taste how nutritious the mix was and I respected how long the process takes. But I can that this is eaten for survival as a clean source of protein, and not necessarily for enjoyment.
I preferred the Mustang Chicken Curry option. A chicken and potato curry popularized by Nepal’s tourist town: Mustang, located in the mountains near China’s border. This too was over salted and in need of much more rice to balance that out. Similar to the Chinese style curry, but with less seasonings.
For your entree I actually suggest the Goat Curry upgrade for $3 more. It is well worth the measly price, considering a whole dish of goat curry runs at $16 on the regular menu. Bone-in goat curry cooked in tomato, ginger, garlic, and spices. Here, we learned that goat is a more healthier option than lamb, and much lower in cholesterol. The roasted spices really shone within the peppery gravy. This was also the least salty of the three entrees.
And for dessert your options are between icecream or Gulab Jamun, both accompanied by mango.
The Vanilla Ice cream was store bought and came plated with ice crystals. We did mention the freezer burn to the owner, who was really apologetic and receptive of the feedback, much like he was with the salty entrees above. Overall the dessert was pretty lack lustre, the mango syrup was the highlight, but it would have been nice to have real mango fruit instead.
Out of the two, the Royal Gulab Jamun with mango mousse would be the better option. A single Gulab Jamun ball sliced in two and presented ever so delicately with more mango syrup, rose water, and a pistachio crumb. I was honestly expecting a larger ball, and not such a dense solid cake. The owner did tell us that he is looking to source larger Gulab Jamun and ones that are more spongey and soft. But for now these were disappointing.
The meal started off strong with the momos, then it trailed off at the curries, and sadly lost me at dessert. Although at $20 for 3 courses I cannot really complain. This is the best valued Dine Out Vancouver meal for cost versus quantity.
Momo Hut
6372 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5W 3A4
604-428-8040
momohut.ca
