"Having said that:"

Got Momo??

Way back when Katmandu was introduced to Steam dumplings called Momos, I was probably in my 5th grade or so. Masangali was probably the first “Momo Joint” ever to offer Momo exclusively. The popularity of this new culinary item picked up so fast that the restaurant owner soon implemented “Coupon” system for their customers who lined outside this tiny little store with two ton pressured gasoline cooker blasted all the way. Now at that time, one plate of Momo consisted of 8 pieces of dumplings made by 3-4 crewmembers sitting in a circle inside dimly lit yet highly noisy room. Momo came with Sesame flavored “Achar” made to the right consistency. A plate of Momo at that time was Five Rupees, now that was back in 1984.
Soon after we saw period of “Momo” renaissance. Every “Galli” was infested with small Momo restaurants with names like “Metho Momo”, “Rashilo Momo” and not to mention “Swadistha Momo”. 
Well living around the “Momo” land, we did try out Momos from different stores. Although my mom always opposed the idea of getting Momos from outside. Her argument was she could make Momos of higher quality at home with Water Buffalo Bone marrow instead of “fat” used in commercial Momo productions. Now she might be right on that matter, but we seemed to like the more juicy Momos from “Swadistha Momo” conveniently located in the next “Chok” over to ours. 
Over the years however, like any business, more Momo stores were opened and storeowners competed fiercely to lure people to their store. As a result, they compromised on the quality. Now they started putting more cabbage than meat in their Momos. They also started paying less interest in the important steps in making Momos. They started using legs instead of hands to mix the meat and the spices. And the consistency of “Achar” got thinner and thinner. Gradually these local “Galli” Momo stores were entertaining fewer and fewer customers.
But the concept of Momo as an eat out item never showed any weakness. When Galli Momo’s popularity tarnished, new form of upscale restaurants popped up. Bakery Café type of restaurants embraced the delight of these succulent dumplings and made them their popular item in their menu that also consisted of such imported fast food items as Hamburgers and pizza. By now, however, a plate of Buffalo Momo was costing little over 50 rupees. Also the presentation of Momos saw some major change. No longer the Momos were covered by “Achar” like the old Galli way. Instead they are now distinctly separated from “Achar”. The dipping “Achar” is now presented in the middle of plate in a small cute bowl. The chemistry of “Achar” itself got transformed dramatically. “Achar” now had more tomatoes and less Sesame flavor. The Bakery type Momo was intended for middle to upper middle and higher-class people from Katmandu. And surprisingly this item in its transformed state is doing pretty good in the market. The Bakery Café revolution has stormed the valley so much that now restaurants of such category and construct can be seen everywhere.
“Galli” Momo restaurants are still visible in Galli to serve people of lower income brackets. But now the “Coupon” systems in such places are things of the past.

The Momo mania was spread all over the world in this past decade. In North America in General and the United States in particular, the popularity of Momo has been showing modest liking in the Nepali Community. Of course along with Continental difference, the way Momos are made in the US is significantly different too. No longer the dough is made by hand and then rolled into circular structure to embrace the spiced meat, instead ready made dumpling covers can be purchased from Chinese grocery stores and heated up in microwave for 30 seconds and licked in the bowl of water and used. More convenient way to make Momos. The steamer required to make Momos has been adapted to US environment by using Aluminum foil and making holes on them with fork. Due to unavailability of Water Buffalo meat, pork or even beef meat has been used as replacement. “Achar” is primarily made in this hemisphere with tomatoes. Nevertheless, the Momos never failed to serve as catalyst to social gatherings.
Momo’s future might change according to time and place, but its significance is too strong to be ignored. After all no other culinary item has even come close to bringing people together in one room and made them talk about Rukum to Ratnapark. I am surprised that there has been no Restaurant established in New York that serves Momo only.
Having said all that, it has been more than a week since we made any Momos here. So the Momo itch has already crawled into our taste bud asking us to organize a Momo party in New Jersey soon.