Been missing your momos? Pining for a pokhara or longing for a lamb mala? Ever since Mt. Everest's Kitchen closed their 17th Avenue restaurant earlier this year, fans of Nepalese cuisine have been bemoaning its departure.
But there is now good news on the momo (dumplings), pokhara (meats cooked with gravy in the style of Pokhara, Nepal) and mala (Nepalese-spiced meats served on a sizzling pan) front. Everest is back!
The newly minted and freshly renamed Everest Kitchen opened a few weeks ago at 176 Bedford Dr. N.E., 403-452-8766. (That's in Bedford Plaza on the corner of Bedford Drive and Beddington Boulevard.)
It looks very much like the old Mt. Everest. The walls have been painted a rich yellow--the same yellow that the HB pencils of my elementary school days were painted--and the tables are topped with gold and black linens. The place has been scrubbed clean and decorated with many of the same Nepalese decorations that adorned the old restaurant.
It's a bit smaller at 36 seats, but they've somehow managed to accommodate a lunch buffet table and create a pleasant, sunny room. The menu is a bit shorter too, and the prices are lower than they used to be.
One other major change is that only one of the three original Everest partners is involved in Everest Kitchen. Dwarika Karki is the sole owner here; his former partners have decided to take a break from the restaurant business.
Karki, a native of eastern Nepal, trained at a hotel and restaurant school in Kathmandu and worked as a chef in restaurants in Nepal and England before coming to Canada 10 years ago. But he won't be doing much cooking in his new restaurant. Former Everest chef Shiva Prasad Gautam has returned to the kitchen with all his Nepalese momos, pokharas, malas and more.
Everest Kitchen is open for dinner and buffet lunch ($14) Tuesday through Sunday.
