Darjeeling Kitchen & Café

The Best New Himalayan Restaurants in Queens | Eater NY

"Chef and co-owner Pupu Chhangi aims to represent Tibetan food from Darjeeling, India, where many Tibetan immigrants like her family have settled, and she layers in a lighter cooking style following a doctor’s recommendation and her practice as a devout Buddhist: dishes are lighter on spices, oils, and meats. Her approach shows up in momos (Tibetan momos typically forego masala): she offers two vegetable versions — a mixed-vegetable momo with kale, tofu, cabbage, and carrots, and another filled with oyster mushrooms — plus a shrimp momo that is described as more buoyant than beef or chicken counterparts. She delicately seasons other regional Darjeeling specials such as the thukpa (noodle soup); aloo dum (saucier than its Nepali version and topped with crunchy chickpea flour); and rildok, a soup usually eaten by Sherpas on the way up to Everest. Because some ingredients are inaccessible locally, she substitutes Nigerian fufu for smashed potato dough and blue cheese for a funky Tibetan cheese, noting she uses so little of it that it doesn’t overpower the flavor. (Appetizers: $4-$8; momos: $9-$10; entrees: $10-$18.)" - Caroline Shin