Yalla Momos, Dubai - Yalla! Yalla!

The fried cottage cheese momos

Karama is a foodie's playground. It is difficult to walk a block without seeing something that excites your taste buds, and the competition for your stomache space is tough. We were therefore intrigued by the increasing chatter we were hearing about a relative newcomer to Karama - Yalla Momos.

Momos are Nepal's answer to the Chinese dumpling. The casing is a light and simple dough and the fillings can be made up of just about any meat or vegetarian option that the imagination can conjur. Our love affair with the humble momo began on the streets of Kathmandu many years ago where we devoured them (vegie and "meat" varieties) as a great treat away from the otherwise endless meals of rice and lentils. In Kathmandu the sauce was equally as exciting as the momo - a rich, firey orange curry sauce that you mopped up with the momo and left you wanting to lick the plate clean. You could say we are fans of the old momo and we were quite excited to see what Dubai could offer us to quench our momo thirst after so many years.

Yalla Momos occupies the small corner cafe just across the road from the much larger Bikenerwala restaurant. Don't go with too big a crowd as this place only has 4 small tables and a dozen or so chairs. I can see these guys very quickly outgrowing this small space as word of their success spreads. We were lucky to grab a table and boldly ordered one of everything off their momo menu (all 8 varieties which at 6 momos per plate meant we were in for a LOT of momos). I love places like Yalla Momos. They know they do  good momos so they don't bother overcrowding their menu with 40 other peripheral items. Keep it simple and do it well!

The fantastic cheese and mushroom momos

There is a great mix of vegetarian and meat options to keep everyone happy. We started with the chicken momos which had quite a simple flavour but they went fantastically with the mint, coriander, lime, garlic and vinegar sauce that you are given in large squeezy sauce containers. The second plate, and hands down my absolute favourites, were the cheese and mushroom momos. Juicy sweet mushrooms with rich creamy cheddar cheese that just melted in your mouth.

The spinach and cottage cheese momos

The spinach and cottage cheese had a nice fresh flavour but needed the sauce to give them a little moisture and the Shrimp momos were a little too "fishy" for my liking. We ordered all of our momos as steamed, except for the cottage cheese momos which the owner helpfully suggested were better fried. We took this advice and were rewarded with sizzling hot, crunchy, cheese oozing parcels of naughtiness. Nice, but the excess oil consumption was a little too much of a shift from the otherwise healthy feeling of the steamed dumplings. Plate number 6 consisted of Buffalo momos, known on the menu as 'Buff Momos' - juicy, slightly greasy beef-flavoured parcels which had a great flavour and were the closest to what I remembered having in Nepal. It was then that we really missed the rich curry sauce that we rememered having in Kathmandu. The vegetable momos which seemed to be the ones receiving the rave reviews were a little dull after the buffalo. By plate 8 were were struggling, but we decided to re-order the cheese and mushroom momos, this time fried rather than steamed to see how our favourites stood up. The friend versions were certainly nice, but tasted better steamed in our opinion.

The chicken momos

In case were weren't full enough, we were persuaded to try the Wai Wai, a noodle dish that we otherwise knew nothing about. A tad dissappointing after the high standard of the momos, the wai wai was a fried plate of 2 minutes noodles with some vegetables and a large dose of fresh chilli. Fine as far as 2 minute noodles go, but not what we came looking for.

The apple and cinnamon momos

After all the salt we decided to end the night on a sweet note and were sucked in by the Apple and Cinnamon momos which we were told were an old family recipe of the owners. Imagine a dumpling version of a McDonald's Apple pie... but better! We only ordered 2 of these momos because we were insanely full, but they were amazing. The apple was all mushy and creamy and the fried pastry was crunchy and it was served with a light sugar syrup. Delicious.

RECOMMENDED

After what is probably the most comprehensive survey of any menu we have done in Dubai, we can definitely recommend Yalla Momos as a place to satisfy your momo craving. Some were a bigger hit than others, but each plate was fresh and you could really taste the personal touch of home made dumplings. While they may not quite live up to momos we had in Kathmandu (mostly down to the curry sauce in my opinion) Yalla Momos is here to stay and Dubai is better off for it. Get to Karama and try them for yourself or if you want to avoid the parking hassles, give them a call and order delivery!


The bill (for 2 but was enough for 4):
1 x plate of vegetable momos - 10 Dhs
1 x plate of spinach and cottage cheese momos- 10 Dhs
1 x plate of cheese and mushroom momos - 10 Dhs
1 x plate of fried cottage cheese momos - 11 Dhs
1 x plate of chicken momos - 11 Dhs
1 x plate of shrimp momos - 14 Dhs
1 x plate of buffalo momos - 11 Dhs
1 x plate of fried cheese and mushroom momos - 11 Dhs
1 x wai wai - 7 Dhs
2 x apple and cinnamon momos - 4 Dhs
1 x Oreo milkshake - 7 Dhs
  
TOTAL: 106 Dhs (Approx. US$29)

Restaurant address: Street 4B, Karama, Dubai (two streets back from Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Road).

for exact locations of all reviewed restaurants, take a look at our map.