Mohi and Momos

While the actual day marking the Nepalese new year (April 14) has come and gone, no doubt with much celebration by the community here,
you can still indulge in at least one aspect of Nepalese culture all year round – the food!

Like many other countries that have seen different dynasties through the generations, Nepalese culture is a blend of indigenous and foreign – primarily its neighbours India to the south, Tibet and China to the north – and nowhere is that more evident than in its food.

As with their southern neighbours, rice (bhat) and a thick tasty soup-like paste made from lentils (dal) are at the heart of most meals. More often than not rice and dal are served with what is often referred to as ‘curries’, vegetables or meat stewed or cooked in spices (tarkari), and with a spicy pickled relish (achar). Of course this is just a basic meal, something likely to be eaten at home. At restaurants, however, variety comes in all shapes and sizes with snack dishes, meat dishes, rice dishes… the list is endless! So we dropped by a few places, just to let you know what is on the menu…

Opening its doors in 1995, Nepal Restaurant (G/F 14 Staunton Street, SoHo, 2869 6212) was one of Nepal’s first exports to the island. With a slew of fresh ingredients imported from its home country, and Nepalese chefs, the restaurant’s authenticity makes it a popular choice among locals, Nepalese and not alike. The specialties here are Bhenta Tareko – fried eggplant marinated with fresh Nepali herbs ($40); Royal Khasi, a boneless lamb slice cooked in almond-based gravy ($108); and Luiche Rana Pariwar, chicken breast marinated in light Nepali spices with cashew nut paste, slow roasted on a skewer ($88). For the rice lovers – there’s a pulao (rice cooked with saffron and other spices) to suit everyone: manang mustang – fruit ($58), lamb ($78), chicken ($78), prawn
($138), or vegetable ($58). The restaurant is also open for lunch, with a set menu offering a choice of samosa, Bhenta Tareko or the chef’s special salad to go with a main course of meat or vegetables in a barbecue or curry sauce, served with rice or naan, plus tea and coffee, all for $88.

For those wanting something that harkens back to the basics, the Kowloon Curry House & Bar’s (266 Temple Street, Jordan, 2384 3570) set lunch special gives you the hearty dal bhat, with curry chicken, beef, or pork for $30.

Naan is very much a part of northern Indian cuisine, so it’s understandable that it is also a Nepali favourite. It can be found in almost all Nepali restaurants, with quite a few varieties available at Kangan Nepalese Cuisine (1/F 122 Woosung Street, Jordan, 2314 1633). The kashmiri naan ($24) is a good choice for something fruity as it is cooked with raisins and nuts for an interesting mix of savoury and sweet. The paneer naan ($24) is our personal favourite or you can opt for a Nepali style ‘sandwich’, the keema naan ($24), which is stuffed with minced lamb.

Inspired by the Tibetans, Nepalis also have dumplings called momochas (or momos). Tibetan momos are usually filled with meat, or sometimes potato, while the Nepalese momos may be stuffed with vegetables or meat, or a mixture of both and can be served either steamed or deep-fried. They are great as snacks, but you could just as easily fill up on a whole plate of them – yummy! Momos are a specialty at Manakamana Nepali Restaurant (G/F 165 Temple Street, Jordan, 2771 1511) and go for $30. They are also available at Sitara (G/F 59A Peel Street, Soho, 2851 1870) which specialises in home-style Nepalese food, with a comfy intimate décor to match.

If one thing is common to all cuisines, it’s the dessert everyone looks forward to at the end of a meal. Sikharni, a traditional Nepalese dessert, is sweetened chilled yoghurt with aromatic spices. Curry Corner (2/F Nanking Street) – a quaint little corner bakery in Jordan – has one with fruits instead of aromatic spices for $30. But for a traditional Sikarhni, you must go to Nepal Restaurant where they’ll charge you $38.

To accompany a good meal, the Nepalese might drink Mohi – better known as lassi in India. It is a milkshake-like mixture of yoghurt and water and may be served with just a little salt or with a mixture of spices, sweetened with sugar or blended with fresh fruit. Alcohol-wise try traditional imported Nepali beer, Gorkha ($68/bottle), and Nepalese rum, Khukri ($150/bottle) at Nepal Restaurant or head down to Bhatti Bar (G/F 10 Elgin Street, Soho, 2546 0438) to sample Raksi, an alcohol made from millet.

In honour of Nepalese New Year’s Day, if your birthday is on April 14, you can dine for free at Nepal Restaurant. The offer is valid until the end of the month and subject to a bill of $1,000 or more for a party of four plus. Your table must be booked in advance with a note that it is a birthday celebration. You must also show proof of your birthday with your HKID.

Sweet Things
Wandering through the new walkway in Pacific Place 3, you might be enticed by the wafting smells of freshly made coffee, hot chocolate and crepes. Don’t be alarmed, it’s just Chocolux Cafe (Shop 3 Basement 3, Three Pacific Place, Admiralty, 2918 9892) luring you in to its concoctions, most paying tribute to that most delicious of sweets, chocolate. As it is a branch of the original Chocolux (G/F, 57 Peel Street, Soho, 2858 8760), you can expect more what made the original so popular – chocolate fondue ($48 for one person, $68 for two), chocolate macaroons ($15, $180 for a dozen) and, of course, their signature sweet and savoury crepes including chocolate and banana; French butter; smoked salmon and cheese; and turkey breast, cranberry and cheese ($28-$50). It is a small venue, with just a handful of seats, so make sure you get there before the crowd at peak times, or you’ll be left missing your cocoa delights.

Sift (G/F 46 Graham Street, Soho, 2530 4288) is the brainchild of chef/owner Jennifer Cheung who trained as a pastry chef in New York. With clean cut, sleek interiors and a chilled-out terrace area, this dessert bar is cool without being pretentious. Which is perfect as it allows the food rather than the décor to take centre stage. The desserts are delightfully colourful creations in bright and deep hues, standing out against the cream and beige interiors. Sticking to the motto ‘fresh is best’, Cheung changes the menu every 2-3 weeks but you can always expect to see the signature item, a sinful blend of chocolate ganache, jivara cremeux, praline crunch and chocolate fudge cake known simply as sift chocolate cake ($64) on the menu. Sift is open from 3-11pm every day, except Mondays when it’s closed.

Swing into Spring
Celebrate the season of blooms with Opia’s (1/F, JIA, 1-5 Irving Street, Causeway Bay, 3196 9100) new menu which mixes fresh and seasonal ingredients for a vibrant and refreshing welcome to spring. Included on the entrée selection are dishes like seared Brittany scallops with Californian artichoke and a mint apple emulsion and oxtail and milk chocolate agnolotti with baby potato and a shitake vodka tea (each dish $160 upwards). For mains indulge in roast Tuscany rabbit saddle on chicken liver parfait, served with baby leeks and a light semillon cream or pan-roasted turbot with lemon, French beans and Maine lobster crepe (each dish $280 upwards). Finally for dessert choose from a layered bitter chocolate crepe cake with passion fruit curd, drizzled with a sauce of crème de cacao, vanilla and cassia, or the Lavarot traditional aged cheese with gingerbread wafers and a Pedro Ximenez and saffron jelly (each dish $120 upwards).

FINDS (2/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, 2522 9318) has brought back blinis! For those who don’t know, blinis are rather like mini pancakes made from buckwheat and usually served with salmon and cream cheese. Traditionally found in Russia, there are regional variances in the way they are cooked and served. Blinis at Finds are made Karelian-style (hailing from St Petersburg), thicker than usual and served sizzling, right out of their cast-iron pans. They come with wild mushroom tartar, Golden Lake lavaret roe or wild Sevruga caviar.

Looking for a quick bite during your lunch hour while trawling the shops at IFC Mall? Step into The Box (Podium level, IFC Mall, Central) for a sumptuous buffet lunch available from noon to 3pm daily ($198 weekdays, $268 weekends). Imagine the pleasure of dining on Italian offerings al fresco on the outdoor terrace, overlooking a wide view of Victoria Harbour. On weekends the menu becomes even richer with Thai, Japanese, Indian and European dishes adding international flavours to the experience.

Khana Khazana (1/F Dannies, 20 Luard Road, Wanchai, 2520 5308) is celebrating its second anniversary right up until the end of this month, with 15% off all food and beverages. Drop by for lunch on weekdays to sample the Indian vegetarian buffet from 12 noon to 3pm.

Mezz (Shop M20-M28, M/F Prince’s Building, Central, 2523 8989) is offering a special discounted dinner set menu, created by new Australian chef Mark Beckwith. Starters include pan-seared goat cheese, braised fennel, slow roasted tomatoes, rocket shoots and balsamic caramel sauce while for a main US beef tenderloin is served with pommes confit, black cabbage, shaved black truffles and black pepper velouté. Dessert is mango soufflé with vanilla ice cream. Three courses (one main and two others) are $290 and all four courses are $330.
Free corkage is an added bonus with both a la carte and set dinner menus.

What could make a meat lover happier than a kebab buffet? JoJo Indian Cuisine (2/F David House, 37-39 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 6151 0994) is hosting a ‘Kebab-e-Awadh’ festival from May 1-15 with over 30 variations of kebab including chicken, lamb and seafood options. Vegetable and paneer kebabs cater for vegetarians. We’re looking forward to trying the murgh kashmiri seekh, a chicken kebab cooked with saffron and dry fruits, and the dum malai champ, a kebab of lamb chop marinated in cream and smoked.

And if you are one of those people who are always on the lookout for new experiences, fresh sensations, here are a few new places you might like to explore…

La Mer Brasserie (1/F LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central, 2523 0200) has finally opened its doors for a Parisian style maritime indulgence. It is decked out like a brasserie in 1920’s Paris but with a stylish and modern twist, and has an extensive menu of fruits de la mer. Dishes include black mussels with pommes frites served especially for two in a choice of provencale ($249), mariniere ($253) or poulette ($265); seafood platters: La Plateau ‘La Mer’ ($290) which includes crabs, prawns, mussels, oysters and cherrystone clams or La Plateau du Sud which includes grilled lobster, king crabs legs and scallops ($298) both for a minimum of two; and for oyster lovers everywhere: oyster shots (starting at $30/shot), fresh oysters ($26 and upwards for one piece) and hot oyster dishes ($128 and upwards for four pieces).

Pop Bites (UG/F 3-5 Old Bailey Street, Soho, 2525 4141) is a new venue brought to you by chef extraordinaire Calvin Yeung. Not content with his two recent openings – O Sip Hah and Shu Zhai – he has added this mix of eatery and boutique to the Wang Workshops Group. It offers fine wines, cheeses, baked goods and comfort foods and a space to chill out to the sounds of a DJ, or to listen to new tunes at the specialized CD station. Sounds like the perfect way to spend a lazy weekend afternoon…

At Sakana (G/F, 25 Tai On Street, Lei King Wan, Sai Wan Ho, 2568 7678) in Soho East fresh is best and ingredients are flown in from Japan weekly to make an assortment of $58 rolls, a soft crab and avocado roll ($78), a botan ebi roll with chestnut paste ($80) or, for those who long for sashimi, the grilled
toro ($100).
Transported from downunder, Cecconi’s Cantina (G/F 43 Elgin Street, Soho, 2147 5500) is a joint venture between award-winning chef Harry Lilai and the Dining Concepts group, who have added yet another venue to their Soho collective. Cecconi’s in Melbourne has been serving authentic, hearty Italian fare for more than a decade, and is keen to offer local customers the chance to explore what has made the restaurant so successful in Australia. Chef Peter Birks from the original restaurant is overseeing the team here to ensure Hong Kongers get the true Cecconi experience. Dishes on the menu include a risotto of rabbit, red wine and Ligurian olives ($168), baby lamb braised in white wine, garlic and vegetables served with polenta ($198) and zucchini and pancetta-wrapped prawns over lemon whipped potato and sauce vierge ($128).

When one door opens – another must close… say your goodbyes to Pousada (112 Pak Sha Wan, Hebe Haven, Sai Kung, 2335 5515) which will be closing its doors for good at the end of the month. The villa is giving you a last chance to savour Portuguese favourites like chourico assado na canoa – a flambéed traditional Portuguese sausage ($48), galinha a Africana – spring chicken marinated with coconut, ginger and African spices served with garlic rice ($128), soft shell crab tempura served with piri piri sauce ($56) and Pousada’s famous chocolate mousse ($38). The restaurant expects to be busy, so remember to make reservations to say your adieus.

Coming Soon
We popped into Babek (G/F 9 Elgin Street, Soho, 2975 9332), which is still making the final touches for a grand unveiling. Look forward to high ceilings, trendy earthy tones and a sleek yet comfortable interior. The restaurant will be serving modern Indian fusion cuisine… we can feel our mouths watering already. Keep a look out; the doors will be opening soon.