Kathmandu MoMoCha — Restaurant in Seattle

Kathmandu MoMoCha has always been a delightful addition to Seattle in food truck form, so seeing their “coming soon” sign go up on a storefront along Terry Avenue North a handful of weeks ago made me absolutely giddy. Himalayan dumplings are a food everybody should try at least once, especially in Seattle: the perfectly-spiced meats and slightly thick (but still wonderfully chewy) dumpling skins are perfect for lunch or dinner on a chilly fall day in the Emerald City.

I was very excited to make it for their grand opening, and I was happy to see a healthy crowd of people showing up for lunch on their first day. They managed their line very well, with orders coming out quickly and hot, which speaks to their food truck roots and is a good sign that they will be successful here in South Lake Union during the regular lunch rush. The entire staff was very friendly, welcoming, and organized.

While MoMoCha’s Himalayan dumplings can be ordered on their own, along with a wide array of appetizers, soups, and other entrees, their lunch combinations really shine: eight dumplings (four each of chicken and pork, in the case of the meat combination) and two veggie pakora (I got three!) are a very filling meal, or a great size to split with a friend alongside another appetizer. I highly recommend getting a cup of their masala tea as well: it has the perfect hint of sweetness, a touch of cream, and is beautifully spiced without any notes of bitterness.

I opted for a to-go order, as it was a pleasantly chill day and I was looking forward to eating outside in the (public!) plaza in the middle of the same block. I was able to choose from their various complimentary dipping sauces (mild, medium, and hot: I chose the latter two). Both sauces were excellent, but I also suggest trying the dumplings on their own, especially with some of the freshly-chopped scallions that come with the dumplings: the dumplings are expertly-spiced and very juicy and hearty. After tasting everything on its own, I found myself only using a small amount of the sauce as a spicy complement for the warm and filling meaty dumplings. The pakora are delicious and nicely sized, and are a very well-balanced blend of spices, vegetables, and chickpea flour, both moist and crisp without tasting remotely greasy.

I definitely highly recommend visiting, and I look forward to returning soon to try some of their other menu items, especially the handmade turmeric noodles and garlic chili lunch combo. I hope to try dining in at some point when the grand opening rush calms down, as they have a very nice (but small) seating area and stunning art to admire throughout the restaurant. They also have a small takeout window facing the sidewalk, which didn’t appear to be in use during their grand opening, but I expect it will be a very nice option on nice days or when picking up an order:it will probably also help reduce foot traffic through their dining area...

Edit since I can't reply to the owner: the owner is a liar who, based on another review, has a pattern of blaming customers. At least they did refund my money, which is something.

I mixed the soup, looked for lentils, scraped the bottom of the container looking for them before I brought the soup back.

At no point did the owner speak to me or do anything except rely on the cashier, who previously didn't even know how to ring up the soup.

I left because they were being unsanitary in their attempt to fix the problem (since I could see from the front) and I do not trust food from this restaurant.

I wish I could give this zero stars, because it absolutely deserves it.

I got the lunch special lentil soup to go. No price listed and it ended up being a little over $10 after tax. Whatever, it's soup, it'll probably be a decent amount.

Wrong. I get it, it's a 14oz container. At least it'll probably be good, fairly thick?

Wrong. No lentils visible in a broth that was just hot water, only cilantro to be a seen. No smell. Dip the spoon in, no full lentils are visible, just some husks.

Take it back, complain. Guy takes my soup to the back, pours half into a bowl, starts adding unknown items from what's sitting on the counter.

Aaand I'm out. There is no way I'm eating whatever concoction he was coming up with after they tried to scam me with hot water.

They just sit there and look confused, unable to understand why I dislike that solution.

So, credit card...

Had the 10 Beef & Pepperjack Cheese Momo's from this place

Mostly, it was pretty solid. The momos are on the larger side - so 10 of them is a lot of food. Each one comes shaped and wrapped well, with a ball of ground beef on the inside

The wrapping was decent - it managed to hit the mix between being dry and way too wet. Each momo felt like it had a bit too much dough though I liked the ground beef balls. They had some fat to them, were seasoned pretty well, and retained some juice. The beef was probably my favorite part of this dish

On the downside, the cheese in the name was completely missing. There might have been hints of it at points, but this might as well just have been Beef Momos - as there was basically zero pepperjack cheese at all to be found. This contributes to my second point - which is that these felt quite empty once you got past the wrapper, excepting for the beef. There just wasn't anything in addition to the meat in this

What I did like though, was the hot sauce. This was very cilantro-forward, and quite pleasantly spicy.

For the price of around $19, it's somewhat expensive - but 10 momos do give you around 100g ground beef, and the momos themselves are still large Also the complimentary mango pudding was nice, but I can't say I liked it that much

Overall, it's a fine place for momos, and probably worth a stop, but nothing to write home...