Tibetan thaalis or momo platters, get your fill of Himalayan flavours at Utse Kitchen. You know that feeling when you've shopped till you've dropped in Commercial Street and you're now craving for a steaming hot plate of momos? Yup, that happened with us so we decided to check out Utse Kitchen, a Tibetan-Nepalese restaurant just 500 metres off Kamraj Road that claims to serve the best momos in the city.
As soon as you enter, you'll find that the decor has a very happy-go-lucky feel to it with bright colours, comfy sofas and tables, and plenty of Tibetan and Chinese decor pieces. We felt at home immediately (even though we're not from the hills!) and decided to order a bunch of momos first thing. The Kathmandu Chilli momos were spicy and saucy in equal measure, but we'd also recommend the Jhol Momos and Momo Sandekho for some extra variety. They also have a momo platter (a set of 12 momos). Bear in mind, that since everything is made fresh from scratch, the service is a bit delayed. It's best if you don't go here when you're in a hangry mood.
Apart from the momos, we also tried the Everest Thali, a house speciality featuring traditional Nepalese dishes. It's a fairly heavy meal with curried meat and vegetable served with rice, Kalo Dal, Piro Alu, Hariyo Saag, and Muli or Tamarar ka Achaar. The flavours are very close to Indian ones, yet distinct and exotic. And just because we couldn't resist ordering something Chinese, we asked for the Chilli Garlic Noodles, which didn't disappoint either. All in all, a great experience. It felt like we had indulged in food from some of the remotest parts of the Himalayas without having to travel to the region!