Possibly the best Himalayan dumplings in London at House of Momo: Dalston and Brixton

Every country will have some sort of dumpling in their cuisine.

The Nepalese have dumplings called momo usuall filled with chicken which looks similar to Shanghai Xiao Long Baos.

I have had my fair share of Nepalese dumplings which revolve around steamed or pan fried dumplings served with hot sauce.

At House of Momo they serve a good variety of dumplings and there was one particular one that comes in curry sauce.

First you choose the dumpling, then how it is cooked and then if you want it with curry sauce.

I went for the cheese and veg dumplings, steamed then fried served in curry sauce with some extra Thukpa noodles.

On paying the guy with cash, I was given the wrong change.

While I was waiting for my food, I could hear noodles and rice being cooked which sounded like the stir fries in the Chinese takeaways but with much more effort as it was louder.

When the dumplings came, they did not disappoint. 

I tried the dumplings first and inside, it was filled with delicious melted gooey cheese tasting like cheddar.

The curry sauce that it was in was light which really worked as it did not steal the show from the dumplings and it was not spicy.

The thukpa noodles on the other hand were disappointing and the broth was nothing like urban yak.

Went back again for the chilli noodles and requested it without the sauce as it would be too spicy.

It was really nice of them to accomodate the request and served the sauce separate.

Update 2024:

You can now find them at Brixton Village.

The taste is the same but the sauce is runnier compared to Dalston and the rice is laced with MSG!!

[Review] Itsu Asian inspired food

itsu is a British chain of Asian inspired food that boomed in 2017 with over 90 branches in the UK with 50 in London.

It appealed to me recently because of the Asian inspired buns and the Christmas dumplings.

Went to three different branches.

The first branch I visited was in Camden where there were lots of customers.
Dumplings were selling like hot cakes and replaced quickly by the kitchen.

There were so many gyozas to choose from: prawns and spinach, chicken and spring onions etc as well as the Christmas Cracker.

The Christmas Cracker gyozas appealed to me as it was like a Christmas dinner inside a gyoza.
They are filled with cranberry and turkey in a red dumpling wrap.

Overall, the Christmas gyozas were quite nice but a little sweet because I was expecting the dumplings to be tart.

On another visit, I was at itsu, Westfield where I did not buy anything but observed the decor was nice.

Another time, I was in Farringdon where I went in for the hoisin duck steamed buns which is another creative pairing not seen in Hong Kong yet.

I liked the idea of duck and hoisin sauce in a bun but sadly I couldn't taste any hoisin sauce and it just tasted like a BBQ roast pork bun.

Although I was not wowed by their food, I love their creativity and probably will come back and try other new creations.

https://www.itsu.com/

[西塘花記] Life is colourful with these dumplings

I have been wanting to try this place for ages because they have these colourful dumplings.



Finally the hype is over so decided to give it a visit when it was nice and quiet. You are greeted with trays and trays of dumplings and an open kitchen when you go in the restaurant.



The decor is pink and girly with an oriental touch.


As well as dumplings, there were so many choices for drinks so ordered the hot mountain yam and purple potato drink which are not often seen around especially the mountain yam.



Both drinks were viscous and kept hot for quite a while.

The best thing was that you could really taste the ingredients and it wasn't too sweet. 

++++++++ 

Dumpling names and descriptions were quoted from Menu.

Rainbow Dumpling (8 Pieces) Dumpling Wrapper with Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice, Spinach Juice and Pumpkin Juice (w/ Water Chestnut and Pork Stuffing)



Apart from the fancy wrapper, it was just water chestnut and pork stuffing in the middle. 

It was a waste for an instaworthy dumpling because a memorable filling and not something ordinary and common as waterchestnut and pork would be better. 

++++++++ 

Signature Five Fortunes Dumpling (10 Pieces): 

Dumplings with Spicy Sauce and Fish, Red Amaranth Dragon Fruit Juice Dumplings with Tomato and Beef, Pumpkin Juice Dumplings with Mushroom and Pork, Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Crab Willows, Scallops and Shrimps, Spinach Juice Dumplings with Leeks and Shrimps (2 Pieces Per Flavour)



There are two assorted dumpling sets to choose from so it depends what you prefer. I liked this one as it had spicy fish and the scallops and shrimp dumpling was tasty.



+++++++ 

Cuttlefish Juice Dumplings with Seaweed, Pork and Shrimp: 

The cuttlefish and seaweed dumplings were my favourite because the seaweed makes it unbelievably good especially that chew and unami moreish aftertaste.





++++ 

Finished with the Homemade Yogurt which is a bit different from the creamy yoghurt that you buy at the supermarket. 

The yoghurt here is much lighter and acidic with a curd like texture so if you don't like refreshing yoghurts then choose the ones with fruit toppings.



+++++ 

I do hope to come back when they serve the full menu.

Vegetable dumplings at Central's Wang Fu

Previously had great dumplings at their new Sai Ying Pun branch so decided to go to the Central branch for the vegetable dumplings again and try the yellow bean pudding.





★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
vegetable dumplings:



Sadly, the vegetable dumplings were not as nice as the ones at Sai ying pun because the vegetables inside were not that fresh and lacked taste.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
yellow bean pudding:

The texture of this was interesting, it was all starchy and decomposed in your mouth like thick starchy paste.
It would have tasted nicer if it wasn't so sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Tomato and egg dumplings at Wang Fu

After trying their new branch at Sai Ying Pun, I decided to check out the Central branch.

Tried the egg and tomato dumplings and the dan dan noodles.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Tomato and egg dumplings:


I must have been lucky because I got 11 and the menu says 10 dumplings.
Anyway, the tomato and egg dumplings were quite nice because the tomatoes in the dumpling were not over cooked and they still had a fresh crisp texture with its natrual tomato taste.
But there could have been more egg in the dumplings.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Dan dan noodles:

The noodles were better than anticipated because they were not that spicy and the sauce was thick and aromatic with a strong sesame taste and the sauce had a lot of minced pork in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★