Each restaurant makes traditional Bhutanese-Nepali dumplings differently
limited records suggesting their introduction in Tibet around the 14th century. They feature thicker wrappers than their Chinese jiaozi cousins and were likely first filled with yak meat, suiting the nomadic lifestyle of the area.
As momo spread to Nepal and trade routes with India expanded, a host of spices, including cumin and coriander, were incorporated into fillings. This is also the first time in our geographic exploration of Pittsburgh’s dumplings that we find cheese (typically a simple farmer’s cheese) used as a component.
While the dumplings at Western Pennsylvania’s 11 Bhutanese-Nepali restaurants speak a similar primary language, their chefs find jazz within the framework.
“Momo is one of the healthiest dishes you can have. It’s cooked by steam and it’s the most tasty dumpling,” says Kamal Timsina, owner of Double Fresh, a small restaurant in a Whitehall grocery store. “I want everyone in Pittsburgh to be able to taste them and examine the difference in our cuisine.”
Don’t let the seemingly straightforward simplicity of steamed momo fool you. Each restaurant’s fillings are a dynamic expression of culinary identity. Chicken and vegetables, not generally considered big hitters in the dumpling world, are almost always the standouts, though you’ll also find excellent pork and mutton (goat) stuffings.
At D’s Bubble Tea & Cafe in Carrick, the chicken steamed momo is subtle, with gingery and herbaceous flavors at the forefront. Taste of the Himalayas’ filling is bolder; juicy, with strong notes of onion and cilantro. Double Fresh serves refreshing veggie momo with a balance of crisp cabbage and soothing farmers’ cheese.
The accompanying sauce earns its place in the spotlight more than any we’ve encountered so far on Pittsburgh’s dumpling trail.
“We like to focus as much as we can on the dipping sauce. Simple stuffing lets the sauces shine,” says Arati Thapa, co-owner of D’s. She and her husband, Dinesh Nepal, use her mother’s recipes as the building blocks for the momo they offer at their just-opened restaurant.
All the Bhutanese establishments in Pittsburgh serve house-made momo chutney, sometimes known as achar.
“Every hand mixes differently, so every restaurant will have a sauce that represents them,” says Timsina, who was 10 when his family was expelled from Bhutan in 1992. He arrived in the United States in 2009.
Double Fresh’s chili- and cumin- forward chutney doesn’t pull punches as it mingles with the lush vegetable filling. D’s offering tilts the other way; ground sesame seed is the base for a soft, creamy achar budding with a lighter heat.
There’s room to play elsewhere, too.
Jhol momo invites the dumpling into the achar by turning the chutney base into a broth. The degree of soupiness varies with the destination.
Namaste Momo Corner, one of the pioneers of the South Hills Bhutanese restaurants when it opened in 2018, serves J-momo with medium-thin wrappers that take on an almost elastic quality as they swim in a spicy tomato-forward broth.
At Taste of the Himalayas, the skins become extra supple, sucking in an earthy baking spice flavor and gentle heat that infuses the filling. It wraps around the tongue like a late- arc wing on the YouTube series “Hot Ones,” when the spice hits in a sneak attack minutes after eating.
Chili momo, often called C- momo, are fried and sauced prior to service. At Carrick Bar & Grill, the Cmomo are tender-crisp and bathed in an oily burnt-sienna sauce laced with cumin and paprika, delivering a frontal heat that keeps building toward a lingering crescendo. D’s presentation is festive, with a rainbow of bell peppers, cabbage, onions and herbs mingling with a tangy-sweet sauce.
“It all depends on where you come from. There are places that do heavier spices and other people that serve it more plain. That’s how I grew up, so that’s how I like it,” says Thapa.
Momo build bridges
Momo are relatively new to the Bhutanese refugee group, which has experienced a significant need for adaptation over the past half-century.
“In the camp, many of our men and women learned how to make momo. It wasn’t as popular in the villages back in Bhutan. When we came here to Pittsburgh, that continued,” says Khara Timsina, executive director of Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh. “It is now a part of the Bhutanese-American canon of dishes.”
The Bhutanese in Pittsburgh are primarily Lhotshampa, ethnic Nepali who settled in Bhutan in the 1890s. They maintained their culture and Hindu faith for nearly a century until a government crackdown in the late 1980s attempted to force their assimilation into greater Bhutanese culture. The Lhotshampa were expelled, settling into refugee camps in eastern Nepal, where they mingled with local populations, including an embracement of Nepali dishes like momo.
When mediation for the Lhotshampa to return to Bhutan failed, the United Nations began offering resettlement in other countries, including the United States.
Over the years, Pittsburgh, seen as a place for opportunities, has become a prominent settlement. The first Bhutanese refugees came to Pittsburgh in 2008. There were 23 then, a number that grew to 100 by the end of the year.
Timsina estimates that the population in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area now exceeds 7,000, making it the largest refugee cadre in the region.
“There are things that American Bhutanese-Nepali have here that attract people from other locations,” Timsina says, noting opportunity drew him to Pittsburgh from New York City in 2009.
“For example, we have a community organization that has its own office and bilingual employees to help its country members get assistance. This is a source of help that people can’t easily get in many other cities. People also say there are employment opportunities and affordable housing.”
In Pittsburgh, the utter delight of eating momo serves as a bridge between those worlds.
New generations, broad ambitions
“Initially, we were mostly concentrated in one area, so most businesses opened up surrounding that area. As people started moving to more areas, so did the groceries and restaurants,” Timsina says.
The local community primarily remains based in Whitehall, Baldwin and Carrick, but communities now extend to Rostraver in Westmoreland County and Canonsburg in Washington County.
“It’s not just the Bhutanese-Nepalese who eat there as we build restaurants. They open space for long-term residents to taste food from somewhere else, and that opens conversations and friendship,” says Timsina.
Thapa and Nepal, ages 9 and 10 when they arrived in Pittsburgh and now in their mid-20s, represent a new generation of restaurant operators. The Carlow University graduates opened D’s in March, adding bubble tea and crackling South Indian dosa to a menu filled with Nepali and Bhutanese dishes.
“What’s next? Let’s learn something new that we can become experts in,” Nepal says. “We want people to come to us for a different taste. It makes it easier to compete.”
Ghimery, like many of his fellow restaurateurs, sees his role as integral to this cultural exchange. He moved to Pittsburgh from Texas in 2011, and operated several businesses prior to opening Allegheny Spice Kitchen in February.
He rebranded the space from its former name, Sagun Asian Restaurant, as a symbol of his community’s contributions to Pittsburgh’s ever-growing diverse culinary traditions.
Like his enticing pressure-cooker offering, his momo are part of the way he hopes to weave new patterns into the region’s gastronomic tapestry. He’s already looking ahead to his next introduction: a smoky, tandoor-cooked dumpling.
“We have freedom in this country,” he says. “You can have a good business, you can have a good education. If you work hard and focus on the job you’re doing, you can make it a big success.”