Gakyizompe
“The sauce for Aima Dhatse could be a sriracha replacement.”
“I love the chicken chowmein and chicken fry momos!”
“I liked my Chicken Thali, and was particularly struck by the beautiful mound of tender, snowy, impossibly long grains of perfectly cooked rice in the center.”
Gakyizompe
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
3 reviews
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Momo dumplings are definitely having their moment in the spotlight. Just this month, I listened to a segment about them on Dinner Party Download, and read an article from Sietsama on Eater. So of course, we went to the one reviewed by the latter.
Gakyizompe is on a quiet block, with a very nondescript storefront (it shares an address with some sort of income tax business). Once you're inside, it's very minimally adorned, except for some framed photos of people in Himilayan garb, a picture of the Dalai Lama in the front, and a flat screen TV with YouTube playlists of Tibetan music.
Their menus aren't very detailed. They have photocopied black and white versions, which were probably created once they realized that most people have no idea how to order Himalayan food. From what I gather, much like the Himalayas themselves, the cuisine is a mishmash of all sorts of national dishes – Indian, Chinese, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Tibetan. Symbolic of the political situation over there? I'll let someone smarter than I interpret that.
Anyway, we went with a couple of things that were mentioned in the Eater article and then went a little crazy with momos.
If you don't know what momos are, they're fun-to-say-out-loud dumplings (sometimes in soup, but most of the time with broth inside). Imagine large Shanghai soup dumplings, but with a much denser wrapper.
All told, our feast consisted of:
1) Pork chow mein
-Not the greatest. Our waitress left the restaurant to make a delivery, and I'm pretty sure the chow mein was just sitting in the back because it was cold. Also, super greasy. This one's a skip.
2) Mixed vegetable momo
-Our first momos of the evening were pretty good. The mixed veg ones had Chinese style mustard greens and were surprisingly sweet. Not too much soup inside. I wouldn't exactly call it light fare, since the skin was very thick.
3) Ruethang momo
-This one was in a orange-red broth, and the momos consisted of beef and mustard greens. The soup wasn't heavy or meaty. Great for a cold night.
4) Mutton thali
-The mutton thali was okay, but not great. As is the case with goat/chivo, there was more bone than meat. Portions were tiny too. It also came with tiny sides of split peas, potatoes, and yes, more mustard greens.
5) Aima Dhatse Pork
-This was by far the most interesting. It was listed as a Bhutanese national dish. It was cheesy, bright orange, and the pork was so incredibly fatty. It also came with a side of steamed spiral bread, similar to what you can get in some Chinese bakeries.
And because we're fat and wanted to get the most out of our first momo experience, we did a second round of:
6) Chicken momo
-So glad we took a second plunge into momo territory, because this was by far my favorite. Just the right amount of meat, and the chicken was spiced perfectly. Not too salty.
7) Beef momo
-At this point, I knew we had flown too close to the sun with all these momos. But we scarfed them down. The beef momo was also good, but there wasn't anything extraordinary about it. If you want a beef one, go for the ruethang, just because it's so different.
All in all, I'm glad we went to Gakyizompe, though the consensus was nothing really wowed us. It's a place I would recommend if you're already in the area, but not really a destination.
I'd like to try more momos (specifically in Jackson Heights) as I'm not sure the ones we had here were representative of the cuisine. But based on the ones we tried, they're okay, but I'd much prefer Shanghainese soup dumplings or dim sum-style soup dumplings.
As for the restaurant, there were some sour points – our waitress didn't really speak English well (so I guess authentic?), and the place was terribly insulated so it was like 50 degrees in there (also authentic?). Some of the dishes were misses (I wouldn't get the mutton thali or the chow mein again).
But at the end of the day, everything I listed above came out to under $50. Plus, they take credit cards. Can't knock that.
Amazing freaking food. Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! The food is by no question 5 stars, but this place is really a hole in the wall with a creepy bathroom and no liquor license – hence the 4 star rating. The menu consists of Himalayan and Nepalese options and in my opinion, boasts the best of both in all of Sunnyside. And the SAUCES!!!!! All of the sauces are incredible: tasty, full of flavor and ranging in heat. My chicken lollipop likes to swim in a soup of sauce and i love every second of it, every time. The prices are very reasonable; any time i visit the bill always amounts to less than $15 per person and sometimes $10 for a ton of consumed food as well as doggy bags 🙂
A few of my favorite things:
-Chow Mein (Chicken, Pork all are yummy)
-Cold Chicken Noodles
-Spicy Bhutan Pork or Chicken with cheese
-Crispy Momo
-Chicken Lollipop
I really loved this small, mom and pop, hidden gem establishment. The service wasn't the fastest but the employees were charming and friendly. The food was absolutely delicious and the prices were very reasonable.
I ordered a Thali and got to try many different small dishes. It was fantastic! A great value and great taste!
I will definitely return.