Four new dumpling restaurants now open in the South Hills.
FOUR NEW DUMPLING RESTAURANTS NOW OPEN IN SOUTH HILLS
Near Brentwood Towne Square on Route 51, several immigrants from Nepal and Bhutan have opened four new restaurants tucked in strip malls among barber shops, markets and gas stations. Each serves its take on momos, an enthralling type of dumpling that likely originated in Tibet and is popular across the Himalayas.
Stuffed with beef, chicken or vegetables, momos can take on several shapes to differentiate what’s inside, from delicate purses or papery half-moons and even one like a braided sack. What shape goes with which dumpling all depends on who’s making it. How they’re prepared and served can vary from pan-fried to steamed or both in the case of kothey momos. Others like sadeko momos can include pickled peppers and other vegetables, while c-momos are dressed with a chili sauce, and jhol momos are served in a savory broth.
We’re seeing more Nepali and Bhutanese restaurants now because Pittsburgh has become home to former refugees fleeing ethnic conflict in Bhutan, who lived in Nepal-based camps, sometimes for decades. A resettlement effort took place as the camps closed. Between 2008 and 2012, more than 6,000 were sent to live in Pennsylvania with the help of social service agencies — the most of any state during that period, according to a report by the Asian and Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund. In 2016, the Post-Gazette reported that Bhutanese people accounted for the most significant influx of refugees in the region, with many finding homes in Baldwin Borough, Whitehall and Brentwood.
Generally speaking, five to eight years after immigrants settle, some will open restaurants. As this Saw Mill Run stretch displays, now is the time.
My favorite new fast-casual spot, Namaste Momo Corner (4114 Saw Mill Run Blvd.) sits off on its own corner of a strip mall. The restaurant has been open since July, and its plate-glass window beckons with neon lights in a rainbow rotation. Inside, prayer flags hang above the open kitchen, where co-owner Deepshika Ghimire cooks while her family runs the register and maintains the dining area.
Until it opened, Ms. Ghimire hadn’t cooked for a crowd since she had lived in Nepal, where she grew up. She was born in Bhutan. In 2010, she went to Louisville, Ky., and moved to Baldwin in 2011. Based on the dishes, she likes bold seasonings and has good knife skills.
When I visited between lunch and dinner hours, diners trickled in, including a crew of enlisted men in camouflage along with a few young people from the Bhutanese community. While some restaurants actively dissuade delivery companies like GrubHub from including their businesses — it can add 15 to 20 percent to the bill and charges the restaurant, too — a little spot like this one is slowly building a clientele because of it, the owners said.
I’d recommend a visit instead of delivery. Start with half-steamed, half-fried kothey momos ($7.95), pillows of chopped vegetables served with a chutney that’s as spicy as the diner dictates. Follow up with an order of c-momos ($9.95), an abbreviation for the popular chili momo that is assertively delicious in its bold flavors. Bathed in a paste of spicy tomato and spiked with turmeric, the dumplings are garnished with fine-chopped red onion and cilantro. I also couldn’t resist the spicy puffed-rice chatpate layered with herbs ($3$5). The owner highly recommended sadeko buff, a dish of dried-and-smoked buffalo served with chickpeas, herbs and spices. Next time.
A short stretch down Route 51 sits Himali Kitchen (3536 Saw Mill Run Blvd.), offering the most lively steamed-vegetable dumplings ($7.50) packed with ginger. Also consider the sadeko momos ($8.99): Unlike those at Namaste, they wear a layer of pickled peppers with a muted heat, while the chili momos ($8.99) are similarly restrained, presented in more of a spicy broth than a paste.
Two other Nepali spots offer comfortable dining rooms with cushier seating. Everest Kitchen (4042 Saw Mill Run Blvd.) features a blue dining room with booths, an occasional house plant, prayer flags and Steelers and Pirates pennant flags.
This spot wins for the most soulful version of chicken johl momos ($8.50), 10 plump dumplings in a broth of sesame, garlic, tomato and onion. While I also liked the fried vegetable dumplings with their subtle seasoning and kick-y chutney, I was most intrigued by the menu’s mention of the Bhutanese feast — a weekend-only treat that was hard to find when I was living in New York. Here, it’s a six- or sevencourse order ($13.99 per person), with dishes that include chilis and cheese or pork with radish and mustard greens. I’ll save that for another day and another column. We’ve got dumplings to try, and one more restaurant.
Heading back toward the city on Brownsville Road in Carrick, there’s Nepali Asian Restaurant (2122 Brownsville Road). Owner Uttam Tamang saved up for seven years, working in a restaurant on the South Side before opening his own place almost a year ago. He serves straightforward and very good steamed dumplings in vegetarian, chicken and pork (about $9.95). Diners will also find housemade roti and chana ($4.95) — a chickpea-based soup or curry that the kitchen can serve as hot or as mild as your heart desires.