Secret Nepali Hideout in Singapore
March 30th, 2008 | Published in food and music | 24 Comments
I wrote an email to one of my good friends, a Nepali guy studying in Singapore, with the million dollar question: where can I get real, and really good, home-cooked Nepali food here? There are many Nepali restaurants here, but as a South Asian food nazi I find them all lacking. He said there was one place, but that he couldn’t tell me its name or where it was, it simply wasn’t possible. After a great meal there, I’m starting to see what he means.
Because this place has no address and no name. No signboard. No menu. It probably doesn’t even have a restaurant license; it’s not really a restaurant, see. To get there, I had to follow someone who knew about it — through the back door of that famous shopping centre in Little India, through the back alley, left, right, left, right… until we got to a dingy apartment building. It almost felt as if I should be blindfolded. Up two flights of dodgy stairs. It’s always a pleasant surprise to come across something so pleasantly creaky and dodgy in a city where things tend to work too well, but this apartment building had a gaping hole where its lift button was supposed to be, and apparently there used to be a sign that said something to the effect of, “please stick your finger deep into the hole to press for the lift”. There was a door, and a handwritten sign stuck on it, saying in Nepali: “Nepali food”. I loved this place already.
It was the barest apartment I’ve ever seen. From what I gathered, this place is run by some enterprising Nepali immigrants who offer up a taste of home as well as temporary shelter to incoming Nepalis at ridiculously cheap (by Singapore standards) prices. There were only two tables; the other table was occupied by a bunch of off duty Gurkha soldiers. And the food? Nothing short of phenomenal. In Nepali restaurants here you get a small sampling of Nepali food, mostly the higher end dishes, and a lot of North Indian food too. But this is the only place to our knowledge where you can get real dhal-bat without going to Nepal.
Momo. I haven’t had a proper momo in Singapore, ever. These were good.
a thali with rice, dhal, some pickles, dried meat, and kick ass chilli.
They hardly spoke any English, and I hardly speak any Nepali, so I was lucky to have an actual Nepali person order food for me, because there’s no menu. A thali, many momos, three cups of tea (real chai!!), two cans of green tea later… we paid S$5. For the both of us. Either this is the cheapest meal in the country, or we got a Nepali discount this is what happens when someone else pays for your food and there’s no bill and you hear wrongly, it was $5 per main on average. This has got to be my favourite new place. I’m sorry I have to be selfish at not revealing where this is, but there simply is no way to describe it unless I draw you a map, and even then you probably won’t be able to find it; also since the legal status might be rather suspect, the entire Nepali community will probably be upset if their only source of home-cooked food is ever shut down. So if you desperately want to know, you’d have to click Contact and drop me an email to ask nicely :) Until then, charming places like these on the underbelly of my sometimes too-perfect city (or one that imagines it is), keep me happy to be living here, even just for a while more. Maybe I should do a post about Dining On Singapore’s Underbelly; this secret place will be one feature, the other will be my frequent Thai food jaunts in Orchard Towers (that building affectionately known as “Four Floors of Whores”). And some others. I’d go everyday if I could.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:55 am (#)
Momos, such a simple word that can conjure up such vivid memories of gorgeous tastes, now you’ve made me hungry and with not a momo to be found anywhere….
March 30th, 2008 at 3:47 pm (#)
Hi, where can I find that secret garden please?
March 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm (#)
OH my Goshh…… i miss my dhalbat from the trekking days in nepal. don’t live in singapore most of the time in the year but would love to head there when i get back in october! (i.e. if you would let me know)
problem is… i dont remember any nepali words!
March 31st, 2008 at 4:01 am (#)
Adri… we need to talk, I need to eat at this place. Call/sms me when u see this comment. We need to settle a date for this. CALL ME!
Kisses!
March 31st, 2008 at 6:36 am (#)
momo monster spins big top, spins big top, spins big top. momo monster..
March 31st, 2008 at 4:52 pm (#)
wey…..where’s da place? where’s da place? i agree w you, some good things in life, we have to keep it to ourselves. or else the whole of singapore will be parked outside. pus the darn media and MOM… heheh
April 1st, 2008 at 7:59 am (#)
I agree with you; it’s nice to hear that places like this exist in Singapore. All that perfection means that character is sometimes missing.
Happy eating!
April 1st, 2008 at 1:36 pm (#)
sounds awesome. I’ve stumbled upon something similar here in shanghai, except it’s gujarati food and we eat seated on the bedroom floor.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:12 pm (#)
look man. i’m desperate. everywhere on singapore has bad food. well. at least i’ve got the nuts to say i’ve tried most of the good food around the island. TELL ME THE ADDRESS. PLEASE. max_1989@hotmail.com i’ll wire you 500SGD if you let me in. :)
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:27 am (#)
I was raised by a Nepali-Indian woman who cooked amazing food everyday. Sometimes it was momos with her special chutney; other times it was her spicy tomato “soldar” (soup). I miss home-cooked Nepali food so much!
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm (#)
the momos are really really good… thanks babe! kisses
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:32 pm (#)
a thali with rice, dhal, some pickles, dried meat, and kick ass chilli.
I wish you had some notes in your pics on flickr indicating which is dhal, pickles, dried meat, etc. ‘coz it is hard to tell.
Ah, momos! The last time I had them was way back in 2002…at a Tibetan community near Dehradun (in India). I wonder if there is a difference between Tibetan and Nepalese momos.
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm (#)
a thali with rice, dhal, some pickles, dried meat, and kick ass chilli.
I wish you had some notes in your pics on flickr indicating which is dhal, pickles, dried meat, etc. Ã¢â‚¬Ëścoz it is hard to tell.
Ah, momos! The last time I had them was way back in 2002…at a Tibetan community near Dehradun (in India). I wonder if there is a difference between Tibetan and Nepalese momos.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:17 am (#)
oh, it’s called momos? Looks cute… And I bet it tastes nice.. Grumble.. My stomach spins..
April 8th, 2008 at 12:57 am (#)
babe! don’t forget your promise to bring me to this place the next time you head down! in return, i give you Tom’s Palette vouchers! :D hahaha yes i have some!
April 9th, 2008 at 8:00 pm (#)
Please take me with you and I’ll pay too !
April 16th, 2008 at 1:11 pm (#)
Wow. I haven’t had my mum’s cooking in a while, and this made me miss it quite badly. I love momos and dal bhat tarkari.
G. Chai> Nepali momos are better than Tibetan ones, or so I’ve found. Meatier + juicier = :D
April 19th, 2008 at 9:47 am (#)
Hehe… I know this place pretty well even though I’m not a Nepali. We went there on 15 April (I think it’s either that or plus minus one day). Unfortunately, it’s closed for renovation. Not sure when it’ll reopen. I missed the sukuti there!
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 am (#)
Wow… Wat kind of momo do they serve? Chicken? (don’t think buff momo is possible here right?) Potato? Cheese? Veg? Do they have plain curd & tibetan bread there???
July 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm (#)
Plz Plz mail me the location.I have tried nepalese food in other locations but it does not taste like nepalese at all or it is like a fusion of indian/nepalese.Specially the Momo’s and and the daal-bhaat tarkari…yuummmmm.I am ready for it any time..I am tired of having biryani and nasigoreng/nasilemak..Help me!!
I swear i won’t tell other’s and MOM!!
Thanx
90195895
October 10th, 2008 at 10:14 pm (#)
It seem su guys are starved. Let me know ill send a good cook from Nepal
vs
October 15th, 2008 at 4:50 pm (#)
let me know where it is PLEASE? =p
October 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pm (#)
Hi,
Firstly, I am not a Nepali and/or Tibetan
Secondly, I AM CRAZY ABOUT MOMOS!!!
Please, please, please let me know abt this place!! I have been trying to track down good quality momos in Singapore for 2 YEARS NOW!!…But Alas…in vain!
Please help me sleep better…oh…how I long for these yummy little dough balls of minced meat, dipped in red hot fiery chilly chutney, with juices oozing out with every tantalizing bite…umm….PLEASEEEEE…..
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:10 am (#)
Hi - I wanted to cheer up my daughter who has moved to Singapore to study and all I could think of was momos!
I did a search and your page came up….directions pretty please.
Asking Nicely :-)
Karen