Tasty Mo:Mo

By Michelle Ng ’18

mo·mo
/ˈmōmō/
noun

(in Tibetan cooking) a steamed dumpling filled with meat or vegetables.

Tonight my brother and I ventured into Somerville to celebrate my post-first day of classes and his almost-first week back at school. Or, you know, for dinner.

He had suggested we try a take-out Nepalese/Himalayan place called Tasty Mo:Mo because we both love dumplings and momos seemed pretty much like adventurous dumplings. This way we could enjoy the security of a comfort food while feeling cool for trying new things—and, on top of it (as I realized after obsessive Yelping), by ordering momos we would be contributing to feeding children in Nepal. For every order of momo purchased, Tasty Mo:Mo donates $1 to an organization called Food for Education, which provides food to children in Nepal so they can pursue an education instead of working for food.

So we were feeling pretty good about this place before we even went in. Tasty Mo:Mo is small, as it turns out, with just one table in a corner, a TV up on a red wall, and a counter with a few high chairs against the opposite wall.

Likewise, the menu itself sticks with the classics, which I appreciate because it’s bold: the chefs know that the items in this limited selection are their best, and have faith that customers will be happy with them.

On a Tuesday night, two people managed all the restaurant’s business, one mostly cooking an impressive number of take-out orders, and the other dealing with all the customers who came in to pick up said take-out orders. My brother and I watched this unfold after ordering, later noticing a note on a whiteboard stating that food preparation takes about fifteen minutes, as Tasty Mo:Mo only serves everything fresh.

And—as promised—after roughly that much time, our food was brought out!

Here are our three dish-specific reviews:

Trays — Chicken Chow Mein Despite being initially torn between the Chicken Chilly or this noodle dish, I was so glad we chose this one. I don’t even know how or why it tasted so good, seeing as chow mein is such a standard dish I’ve eaten like five billion times. We watched the woman cooking take noodles out of a container and throw them on the stove, so like the fried rice, they came out super hot. (I burned my mouth.) She had tossed them with green beans, onions, and cabbage, and it was served with a sweet curry-type sauce. Happy to wait for the Chicken Chilly until next time!

Bite — Steamed Pork MoMo Here’s the inside of a steamed pork momo dipped in “tomato sauce,” according to the menu (which was definitely not Italian tomato sauce). It was good! They’re incredibly fresh, and our single order included eight momos. I’m accustomed to either steamed soup dumplings or pan fried dumplings, and momos (or at least Tasty Mo:Mo’s momos) are drier than those in that no juices ooze out when you bite them. They feel lighter than some super doughy or fried dumplings too, which is a plus! Other filling options include chicken, beef, or vegan (!!), but according to Yelp reviews pork is supposedly the collective preference.

FriedRice — Egg Fried Rice The fried rice came directly from the wok to our counter so it was hot hot hot, and so different from the Chinese fried rice we’re used to. I couldn’t tell what type of rice it was, but it was soft and a bit oily, which my brother and I both liked. The pieces of egg are also larger than usual for fried rice. Featuring peas and carrots. Disclaimer that we were both ridiculously hungry and this came out first, but my brother LOVED this.

The woman who cooked is also super sweet and came out to chat and apologize for the wait (which was absolutely fine because her expertly managing five woks at once was entertainment in itself). I admit that shoveling food into our mouths didn’t make us the best conversationalists, but I hope she knows we had good intentions. And she now definitely knows that we enjoyed her food.

In short, we began hungry and left stuffed.

LastBite
Overall, very satisfied! I think three dishes were a bit much for two people (even though we both eat a lot), so I’m also very full. Having tried it once, I’m not sure I would make an enormous effort to return; but it’s definitely a hidden gem in Magoun Square and served us a great meal tonight for ~$10/each. And if I just so happened to be in the area…I’m not at all opposed to trying the Chicken Chilly next time.