Thu 18 Aug 2005
Cafe Himalaya New York
78 E 1st St
New York, NY 10009
(212) 358-0160
Between Avenue A and 1st Avenue
Over on 1st avenue just above the lower east side is a funky small cafe that serves some really good homemade cooking! What is Himalayan food you may ask? It’s a blend of Asian dishes that include the popular momo dumplingswhich resemble Chinese Jiao zi, curry dishes and an assortment of vegetarian only dishes. Maybe you are more familiar with Dahl which is a deliciously simply soup made of lentils (has the same consistency of green split pea soup) or the yogurt lassies. We arrived just as the first thunderstorms of the evening were arriving and it was a pleasant solace to dine at 
Cafe Himalaya that night. They have a cozy couch and dining table in the front space to make you feel even more at home. It’s the home cooking though that does it for me. Here they make every dish home made after you order it so it takes a little longer for them to serve you the dishes. We started off with the Momos which as I described taste a lot like Chinese Jiaozi or dumplings. You can get them stuffed with a variety of meats or vegetarian options. Also had a glass of Mango Yogurt Lassie and a Banana Lassie. I ordered the vegetable of the day along with chicken and mushrooms. The vegetable was something that tasted like zucchini but was a miniature version and was much more crunchy. The woman behind the counter said it was named “indura” but I can’t seem to find any information about this vegetable. Should have taken more photos of it though. It came with a bowl of dahl soup which was very comforting and we also had a side order of chicken curry. Both dishes came with bowls of basmati rice. The meal was very tasty and I love the home cooking aspect of this place. I heard in the winter time they have some especially spicy dishes that are suited for the cold. If you’re down in the lower east side be sure to check out Cafe Himalaya - enjoy!
August 19th, 2005 at 6:03 am
Tibetan cuisine is pretty interesting. A medley of Chinese and Indian foods. The momos are always steamed or boiled never pan-fried.
August 21st, 2005 at 7:27 am
I love the tibetan food at Tsampa. But I have to try this place too…thanks for reviewing it.
October 20th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
I am a regular customer of this delicious restaurant. This place is not at all flashy.
It Has a great portion of food, so it is a value meal. Sometimes the food is a bit delayed as they prepare it fresh, especially when its busy. i would definetly recomend it too.
November 11th, 2005 at 9:40 am
Actually, I have a question! I’ve seen so many Hunza bread recipes and none of them seem like they could be authentic, because I know the Himalayan people use all natural ingredients, flour, millet(?), herbs, etc. I want to make Hunza bread because I know it would be far more healthy and I love to bake bread! Do you have a simple Hunza bread recipe? I have searched everywhere for just the simple, authentic recipe! Your restaurant sounds absolutely wonderful! But I am in Maine. I did live in NYC on W. 96th St., long ago!
April 25th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
While momos are traditionally steamed, pan-fried momos are very common nowadays.
for good home-cooked meals at a discount price, this is definitely the place to go.