Tweaked Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Dorjee Momo should be on the radar screen for all people who love good personal food mixed with a heartwarming story. Dorjee Tsering was born to a nomadic Tibetan family, became a Buddist monk, fled Tibet to Nepal and then India, met his now wife Amberjade, and eventually settled in Washington, DC. With stints at Bullfrog Bagels, Maketto, and Honeycomb Grocer, Dorjee has opened Dorjee Momo, a small pop-up restaurant located on the second floor of Bullfrog Bagel near Eastern Market. The pop-up is open Thursdays thru Sundays and is expected to be located at Bullfrog until late summer. The upstairs space is small and intimate, with low lighting, a handful of bench-style seating tables and four seats at the bar. The staff is friendly and enthusiastic about what they are producing. Definitely the kind of place you hope will succeed and grow. I got there around 8:45pm on a Thursday and all the tables were full (but there's only like 5 tables) but was able to get a spot at the bar. Seating is walk up unless you are doing the hotpot, which is by reservation. The menu consists of a handful of vegetarian/vegan dishes and a handful of meat based dishes, about 5 or 6 dishes per side. I went with the Pan Fried Lamb Momo (because momos!) - $14 for 6 pan fried dumplings with 21-spice sepen (which was like a thick pepper sauce, not that hot but I detected sichuan peppercorns as part of the mix) and a garnish of green onion. Really quite tasty, moist, with some lamb gaminess cut by the sepen. I also ordered the Sunflower Buns (because steamed buns!) - $8 for 2 buns stuffed with spinach, glass noodles, tofu, mustard oil glaze and basil-cilantro sauce. Also very good, the basil-cilantro sauce played nicely with stuffing. I will be back next week for a deeper dive into the menu... Lamb Momo followed by Sunflower Buns 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 23 hours ago, Tweaked said: Dorjee Momo should be on the radar screen for all people who love good personal food mixed with a heartwarming story. Dorjee Tsering was born to a nomadic Tibetan family, became a Buddist monk, fled Tibet to Nepal and then India, met his now wife Amberjade, and eventually settled in Washington, DC. With stints at Bullfrog Bagels, Maketto, and Honeycomb Grocer, Dorjee has opened Dorjee Momo, a small pop-up restaurant located on the second floor of Bullfrog Bagel near Eastern Market. The pop-up is open Thursdays thru Sundays and is expected to be located at Bullfrog until late summer. Heartwarming story, yes, but look at this heartwarming soup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty L. Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 4 hours ago, DonRocks said: Heartwarming story, yes, but look at this heartwarming soup! Might be mistaken, but I think that's the hotpot, available only for parties of four and by reservation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simul Parikh Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Those dumplings and momos look dope! And hot pot looks great, too. Looking forward to trying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Chef Dorjee and Amberjade Tsering are featured in an episode of Refugee Chef at Channel NewsAsia. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 On May 6, 2018, my dining companion and I shared an incredibly delicious dinner at Dorjee Momo. We arrived 15 minutes early and were the first walk-ins to arrive. Only 3 additional walk-ins were in line by 5:30PM. Two groups with 5:30PM Hot pot reservations were seated first. We were seated at 5:35PM. We didn't want to chance a possible rain shower on the balcony so we opted to be seated at the intimate 2-top inside and happy we did. We started with a glass of wine each and proceeded with ordering 2 dishes from the TSAI, plant-based menu and 3 dishes from the SHA, meat-based menu. See below listing of our menu selections. Every dish was thoughtfully composed, so well-balanced and beautifully executed. Layers of flavors merged and built upon the previous dish as we progressed with each course. We ended with the Herby Badam Salad, which appeared deceptively simple. There was a hint of Sichuan peppercorn on the periphery, also peanut, but not the usual acidity, sweetness or heavy cream you would expect in a typical dressing. The subtle core flavoring of the dressing was nothing I have ever experienced in my life. So unexpected. I live for these moments in dining! What a delightful way to end our incredibly delicious meal! Absolutely can't wait to return! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 I made a return visit last week. I went with the Sichuan Eggplant Salad and Crispy Pork Belly & Leek Chive Buns. Both are very good. The eggplant was sliced into segments and cooked until very soft while still holding its shape (dslee has a good photo of the dish above)...I'm assuming it's steamed (?). The dish has nice heat from the vinaigrette but I didn't get any mala tingle. It's a rather intense flavored dish, so I would recommend it as a vegetable side dish to share, the portion is generous and would serve 2 or 3 as a side dish. The Crispy Pork belly featured 5 or 6 slabs of pork, nice big homemade buns, and a side habernero sauce (definitely spicy). The leek chive is finely chopped and good for smearing on the pork. The watermelon radish don't really add much. You can jam two slices of pork into each bun and make a nice thick bun, or order another side bun and there would be enough for three buns. This was also a good sized dish. So far Dorjee Momo has been pretty damn tasty and hoping for good things if/when they find a permanent home. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 From February 2, 2018, an extraordinary evening of Sichuan-style Hot Pot Service at Dorjee Momo. The ultimate comfort shared with friends! In our case, my dining companion and I opted to eat for 4! We paired our insanely delicious feast with a refreshing ginger-inspired mocktail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty L. Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 27 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: One can also get Sichuan hotpot at Uncle Liu's in Merrifield, all you can eat for $23. But you can always pay twice as much at Dorjee Momo. I haven't been (mostly because I'm typically disappointed in my own concoctions when it comes to hot pot--I need guidance!), but this place is always packed, FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 From December 5, 2017, an extraordinary 6-course menu celebrating the unique flavors of Tibetan Nomadic, Sichuan and Himalayan cuisine from Nepal and North India! So much history and travel is told in Dorjee's food. As well as his love and passion that goes into the exquisite preparation of every delicious dish! What an honor to be part of this exciting and insanely delicious evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 51 minutes ago, dslee said: From December 5, 2017, an extraordinary 6-course menu celebrating the unique flavors of Tibetan Nomadic, Sichuan and Himalayan cuisine from Nepal and North India! [Do u like dining out?] 🙃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 3 hours ago, DonRocks said: [Do u like dining out?] 🙃 Words to live by from Virginia Woolf: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 😋 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted May 13, 2018 Author Share Posted May 13, 2018 By Ziv via Chowhound. I'm interested in trying it out once but the pics don't look very exciting. So let me get this straight: you are quoting someone from Chowhound, who admits they are throwing stones at restaurants they haven't tried based upon their shitty eating experience in Nepal, in a thread about a restaurant you yourself have not been to? 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smita Nordwall Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Tweaked said: So let me get this straight: you are quoting someone from Chowhound, who admits they are throwing stones at restaurants they haven't tried based upon their shitty eating experience in Nepal, in a thread about a restaurant you yourself have not been to? Totally agree. Let's play by rules of fairness, please. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 I have now been to Dorjee Momo. Let me preface my post by saying I have no experience with Tibetan food. The closest cuisine that I can recall is Masala in McLean, which claims to have authentic northern Indian and Nepali cuisine - and I've had their momo. But before I went, I looked up momo on Wikipedia. It would seem momo is a generic term, like dumpling is a generic term. Otherwise I can't explain why the momos pictured above looked like sheng jian baos and my momos looked like tortellinis. My momo wrappers are pasta whereas the momos above definitely have a bao wrapper. Anyway, I thought they were decent. The herby badam salad was my favorite dish. It has an unique dressing that I cannot describe. The other dish is the Tibetan chicken dumpling soup. The dumplings turn out to be mini jiaozis, but didn't have a lot of flavor. The soup had a very unfamiliar flavor that I didn't quite get use to. Maybe Tibetan food will be the next new thing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 Dining here was a delightful, if a little cramped, experience to usher out the rain yesterday evening. At first I was seated outside upstairs, which was vacant, but it immediately started to rain, so they moved me to the covered downstairs porch, where there were other patrons. Then the rain stopped. There was a bit of a convivial communal aspect to being seated out there, and I got to chat with a friend who was walking by. I ordered three items, and was I full by the end of the meal. My favorite of the three dishes I ordered was the lamb momo. That seasoning was wonderful. The hot chili sauce portion of the spice mixture coated the bottom of the bowl and the little bits of hard spices added another dimension. The level of spicing was just right for me. Loved these. Eric's post convinced me to try the salad, which was beautiful and tasted herby, as advertised. The combination of herbs and greens was very refreshing and the whole thing had a delayed hot spice kick. I did not expect the sinus-clearing heat from this that I got, but it wasn't unpleasant. The very first dish I got I don't think I'd order again solo, unless I planned to have one bun wrapped up to take home. The sunflower buns were gorgeous, and I loved the filling, but that was a bit too much dough to start out the meal, and it was 3 lamb momo that got boxed up for later when I hit a wall stomach-capacity-wise. I also found the steamed buns, despite the basil-cilantro sauce on top, a little dry. It could be a difference in perspective in the photos, but it looks like the ones Tweaked got had more sauce on them than the ones I got. I had already eaten half a sunflower bun before it occurred to me to take photos, but this way the filling is visible, so there's that. It's probably not necessary to post photos since all the dishes I had are already represented in the thread, but I'll include them anyway, in order from the last to first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 8 hours ago, Pat said: It's probably not necessary to post photos since all the dishes I had are already represented in the thread, but I'll include them anyway. Actually, your photo of the lamb momo is interesting. Tweaked's lamb momos looked to have the same wrapper as the sunflower buns (thicker, sheng jian bao type wrapper). My lamb momo looked like tortellinis (or tortellonies). Your lamb momos have a thinner wrapper than the sunflower bun (like Xiao long bao wrappers), or so it seems. I'm not sure why. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 20, 2018 Share Posted May 20, 2018 14 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: Actually, your photo of the lamb momo is interesting. Tweaked's lamb momos looked to have the same wrapper as the sunflower buns (thicker, sheng jian bao type wrapper). My lamb momo looked like tortellinis (or tortellonies). Your lamb momos have a thinner wrapper than the sunflower bun (like Xiao long bao wrappers), or so it seems. I'm not sure why. This is a very good observation - it's probably a different cook (although I can't imagine they have many). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted May 21, 2018 Share Posted May 21, 2018 13 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said: Actually, your photo of the lamb momo is interesting. Tweaked's lamb momos looked to have the same wrapper as the sunflower buns (thicker, sheng jian bao type wrapper). My lamb momo looked like tortellinis (or tortellonies). Your lamb momos have a thinner wrapper than the sunflower bun (like Xiao long bao wrappers), or so it seems. I'm not sure why. I didn't notice the similarity of the momo and bun wrappers on Tweaked's photos, but you're right. When I saw the photo of yours, I thought they almost looked like they were upside down versions of what I had. Mine looked most similar to the one's dslee posted of the popup at Big Bear, except hers were on a plate with the sepen/sauce in a ramekin instead of mostly on the bottom of the bowl. The type of wrapper and the way it was formed looks pretty much the same. In addition to the possibility of a different person making them (as Don notes), it's also possible they're playing with different ideas for presenting the dish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 "Spring Menu Coming Soon." Sigh... I am unlikely to venture into a completely new cuisine without a menu on the website that I can study and do some research on in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 9 minutes ago, bookluvingbabe said: "Spring Menu Coming Soon." Sigh... I am unlikely to venture into a completely new cuisine without a menu on the website that I can study and do some research on in advance. They never had a menu on their website (afaik), which is why I took a photo of it and posted it above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 11 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said: They never had a menu on their website (afaik), which is why I took a photo of it and posted it above. The menu was almost the same when I was there as what you had. I also took a photo but didn't double-check it while I was there. The corner of the menu was cut off in the frame, so I didn't post it because it was not such a great photo. The soup was not on the menu when I went Saturday night. Otherwise, the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 7, 2018 Share Posted August 7, 2018 Great news! Dorjee Momo will be staying in the neighborhood, moving to 1300 - 02 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, in November. Via City Paper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 Had an early birthday dinner at Dorjee Momo last night. It's the only time I've had to wait a significant amount of time to be seated, and we arrived less than 10 minutes after opening. Multiple employees apologized profusely, saying they were understaffed. Everyone is so nice here. There wasn't much of an overflow of people generally, but it was a backlog from people who arrived at or close to opening. I ordered way too much food and brought home leftovers. I think the lamb momo weren't quite as good as they were before, at least in construction, as the lamb kept falling out of them. That may be a variation dependent on who's making them, as per the discussion above.Visually, they looked about the same as in the photo I posted before. I also got the beef curry again and the herby salad, which I absolutely love. My husband hadn't been there before, and he also enjoyed the salad and commented on how delicious it was. He ordered the beef shapta with young bamboo and jeera rice. The bit I had was nice. The beef was very thin or slivered. He had planned on ordering the pickle plate (which was on his menu but not mine), but they didn't have it last night (probably why there was another version of the menu without it). We split an order of the sunflower buns instead. He devoured his--especially liked the filling--and I brought mine home. There is something about how bright the food is here--the colors, the flavors, the textures, the plating--that just makes me happy. It was where I wanted to go for my birthday (observed), and I'm glad we did. People at the next table were getting hot pot last night. It looked like fun. I'd like to try doing that some time. For the second straight meal along that row we went somewhere else for ice cream after. I'm not even sure what DM has for dessert, as I've never tried it. This time we went to the just opened Trickling Springs Creamery store on C St., between 7th and 8th. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 According to Laura Hayes at City Paper, Dorjee is closed temporarily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said: According to Laura Hayes at City Paper, Dorjee is closed temporarily. Oh no, that doesn't sound good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 21 minutes ago, ktmoomau said: Oh no, that doesn't sound good... No, I'm afraid it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now