Calgary Momo House: Inside the authentic Nepalese restaurant

Nov 18 2022, 8:14 pm

Calgary Momo House might be Calgary’s best-kept foodie secret.

It probably still feels like a hidden gem because it’s so deep in the northeast. Or maybe it’s because it’s located in an unassuming wrap-around strip mall-type area. Whatever the reason is, it’s apparent as soon as the food arrives why this place is so special.

It’s quaint, it’s humble, and it’s one of the best restaurants in YYC.

This family-owned spot makes authentic Nepalese dishes made from scratch in the back. The food here isn’t just homemade, they’re familiar comfort dishes while still feeling exciting. Each one is vibrant, fragrant, and colourful, and comes with a story where the inspiration comes from if you’re interested in asking.

The concept here is to bring “the Himalayas to the Rockies”, and Dished recently visited to explore it all.

The menu has starters, appetizers, soups, and entrees, with the chef’s signature dish being the momos — an authentic Nepalese dumpling made by hand in the kitchen.

Calgary Momo House

Dished Calgary

We started off with the chef’s signature momos.

These are Nepalese dumplings that are prepared in several different ways. You can have them wok-fried in chili with assorted vegetables, tandoori-style, fried, in soup, steamed, and more. As for the filling, you can choose from goat, chicken, paneer, or vegetable.

Each dumpling was packed with filling, covered in different sauces, had different textures from the various cooking methods, and generally felt entirely different from one option to the next.

If you want crispy, juicy, spicy, over sweet, you’re covered. These aren’t just delicious and visually striking, but a fantastic price value for the large amount you get with each order. If you like dim sum, gyoza, pirogies, samosas, or any other type of dumpling-like food, then you need to try momos.

We also tried the chowmein, traditional Nepali thali, and the sukuti sandheko.

Calgary Momo House

Dished Calgary

The chow mein, similar to Chinese versions you’ve likely seen before, was a great balance of sauce and noodles, served hot, fresh, and exactly how you’d hope it would come when ordering the famous dish.

We tried the shrimp, but there’s also chicken, tofu vegetable, and shredded vegetable available.

Calgary Momo House

Dished Calgary

The thali was essentially a curry dish, but with a wonderful variety that allowed a playfulness with each bite. What comes to the table is a plate covered with separated portions of different curries, meats, pickled vegetables, yogurt, lentils, mustard greens, and more, and another plate with just rice on it.

Then, you can just dabble in each item as you wish, topping your rice with it and discovering which taste combinations work for you, and deciding what mood you’re in with every spoonful.

Calgary Momo House

Dished Calgary

The sukuti sandheko was the most unique plate we tried. it comes with house dry-aged goat, chili, roasted soybean pickle, and flaked rice. The flaked rice is a unique shape, made by beating the rice and served hard. It was unique, delicious, balanced, and surprisingly filling. It was an example of a recipe that is clearly not changed for a Calgary crowd, and that’s meant in the best way possible.

Everything here was completely fantastic, whether you just want something delicious, or you’re in the mood to taste something you’ve never tried before.

This is a low-key, no-frills space, but the atmosphere is so friendly and the dishes are so bright that the vibe immediately changes once service gets going. There are fun drinks to try as well, and that doesn’t hurt.

We had the twist on the classic Moscow Mule but with Timmur-infused vodka, and also the Jimbu Old Fashioned that changes things up with cardamom and jimbu, an herb related to the onion family. It’s also brought to the table covered in wood smoke.

Calgary Momo House, located at 4310 104th Avenue NE #2150, might be a bit of a drive for most, but we assure you it is well worth it.

Calgary Momo House

Address: 4310 104th Avenue NE #2150, Calgary

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