If you love Momo and if you’re from Kolkata, I’m sure you must have visited Momo Gully at least for once. Well, the stretch of the Suburban Road or Hospital Road towards Sambhunath Pandit Hospital is called Momo Gully mainly because of the four Momo shops that we have. This lane runs parallel to Bishop Lefroy Road where Late Satyajit Ray used to live and now, the lane is called Satyajit Ray Dharani.
Now, coming to this lane, you will see a series of restaurants in this lane. There is Tibetan Delight in the next lane which, for unknown reasons, remains closed on most of the days, post-pandemic. Then comes Momo Plaza which was once good but now, the hygiene and cleanliness at this place has gone for a toss. They changed the cook and now, the food is highly inconsistent. Just beside Momo Plaza, you will find Orchid, which has got no significant changes in quality but increased the price of the items unnecessarily after a renovation. In fact, Orchid has the highest pricelist amongst all, making a difference of almost 50-60 INR/plate than the rest.
Then comes Hamro Momo, one of the best places in Kolkata to have Momo.
A bit about the history of Hamro Momo :
Just opposite to Hamro Momo, you will find a huge house which belongs to an advocate. If I am not wrong, an ex head judge of Calcutta High Court used to live there. This house had a Nepali gatekeeper who used to stay in a small, dingy place opposite to this house and this place later became Hamro Momo. The gatekeeper, along with his wife used to sell Momo during the evening and I heard from my father that they used to give 6-7 pieces along with a bowl of clear soup at just 2 rupees. During the summer, they used to visit their hometown at Nepal pausing the sell of Momo. This was during 1990 and Kolkata was not habituated with Momo. If I am not wrong, Hamro Momo is the second restaurant in Kolkata which started selling Momo. Later during 1993, a Singh family from Bhowanipore got this place, did not make much changes and started selling Momo. In addition, they started off with Noodles, Fried Rice and side dishes too. Needless to say, people started gathering for their Momo. Now, this place is handled by two brothers of the Sign family, Dinesh and Vikash whom you will meet on alternate days.
This place has kept the quality intact which is evident from the customers it gets on any given day. I was introduced to this place by my uncle. I remember having Momo from here during my childhood. Still, I visit this place very often especially for their Momo and Chinese dishes.
Here, you will get 4 kinds of Momo : steamed, fried, pan-fried and deep fan-fried. My favorites are steamed and deep pan-fried. At the same time, there are 3 versions too – Vegetable Momo, Chicken Momo and Pork Momo. Each and every plate comes with 5 huge pieces of Momo and a bowl of clear soup. You must not miss their spicy Momo sauce which they prepare on their own and do not buy. The price varies from 90 INR/plate to 150 INR/plate depending on the type of momos you order. This is perhaps the only place which serves the bowl of clear soup with all types of Momo.
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The other day Vikas mentioned :
We still see a demand of Pork Momo more than the Chicken Momo and we generally do not sell much of Vegetable Momo except to few non-Bengali customers who are strictly vegetarians.
People who know me, they know my love for Hamro Momo. I had my first Momo from this place and till date, I go there almost 3 times in a month and I just do not order Momo only. I like the simple bowl of Egg-Chicken Thukpa that they prepare. I get a feel of the taste of hills. A plate of Momo and a bowl of Thukpa here is a meal, itself.
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In case, you are tired with Momo and Thukpa or if you have a large gang for a lunch or a dinner, you can go through their menu card to try their Chinese dishes. I love Fried Rice along with a Chicken side-dish and you’ll see me gorging on Egg-Chicken Fried Rice and Chili Chicken/Hot Garlic Chicken very often. I am not a big fan of fish and hence, I try to not order fish. Each and every main course here is sufficient for two hungry souls, quantity-wise and each and every side-dish comes with 8 good pieces, be it a chicken-side dish or a fish or a pork dish! I must say to all to try their Chili Pork (dry) as a starter though it can be taken a side-dish too. Another favorite of mine from Hamro is their Gravy Noodles. They make it like heaven!
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There are few starters you should not miss from this place. Just like I mentioned about their Dry Chili Pork, you must not miss their Pan-fried Fish in Schezwan Sauce.
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Very often, I dream of their Hot Garlic Chicken which I usually take as a side with my Fried Rice. Every damn time, they make it brilliantly perfect.
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Hamro Momo is always very consistent with their quality and taste. Firstly, they use good ingredients and secondly, their cooks did not change for a long time. Tibetan Delight in the next lane also keeps their quality and taste consistent but this is the problem with Orchid and Momo Plaza and they fail to keep these aspects stable.
Points to be check :
1. Hamro Momo remains open on a all days from 12.30 PM to 9.30 PM but if you have specific plans to have Momo, you must not visit post 8 PM. Momo are the best-selling items here and they run out of stock even before their shop closes.
2. Do not expect a great ambience. As mentioned earlier, this was a one room-kitchen of a gatekeeper and no changes are done yet. Therefore, there will be no AC, you might need to share tables with others (12-15 people can eat together at a time!) and the first impression of the restaurant might not be an appealing one for you. But, their kitchen has a magic, their food is top-notch.
3. Hamro Momo prefers cash payments but you can also use UPI.
4. For directions, check the link of Google Map here
During my last visit, I did a small reel on Hamro Momo. Check it out here.
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