Momo2Go opens in New Hyde Park

A Himalayan fast-food spot with a stunning variety of momos has touched down in New Hyde Park, and judging by the scene on two visits, it's been busy ever since. Momo2Go would be right at home in a place like Jackson Heights, but this Canadian chain skipped New York City altogether and is going straight for Long Island.

Franchise partner Ngawang, who explains that it's common in his culture to have one name, is a cousin of the main owners and is also looking to open another location in Hicksville. The brand Momo2Go was started in 2016 as a spinoff of Himalayan Kitchen in the Little Tibet neighborhood of Parkdale, Toronto, home to the largest Tibetan community in North America. The website lists nine locations in Canada, another in Dallas, Texas and the one that opened here in June.

Ngawang's parents are Tibetan but he was born in Nepal, and came to New York 16 years ago, he said. Many of the momos — fried or steamed dumplings — that his team serves at Momo2Go aren't traditional flavors from Tibet or Nepal, but Indian fusion momos that appeal to the South Asian community of Long Island.

"In Tibet, basically, they only do the steamed or maybe fried, but mostly steamed," he said. "Every gathering, we gather with our relatives, we prepare momos. We dip it in the hot sauce and we eat it." He added that traditional Tibetan momos usually have chunkier meat fillings and fewer spices, while Nepali momos have more veggies, like onions, and spices, like turmeric. In the Himalayas they can be made with beef or yak meat, but Momo2Go only fills them with chicken, veggies or paneer cheese.

And the varieties are eye-popping. The menu lists about 20 preparations, some saucy, some fried and others crispy and coated in spices. There are Manchurian momos, creamy Szechwan, Afghani momos and momo 65, a dumpling take on the iconic Indian dish Chicken 65. (The New Hyde Park store also has slightly different flavors than the locations in Canada, which can serve beef momos and Nepalese recipes, like sadeko.)

A classic steamed jhol momo ($14.99) arrived in a paper boat, with a side of the mellow gravy that's made from cashew and sesame seeds and spiked up with a sour plum powder. They weren't fancy but they were pretty solid momos, especially for a fast-food spot.

The most intriguing flavor was the kurkure momo ($14.99), which is actually an Indian brand of puffcorn snacks like Cheetos. Here the snacks are ground up and used in a thick batter that Ngawang compared to cornflakes. They come to the table like giant bulbous spheres, each the size of a hush puppy, dusted with Indian spices. Inside the thick batter is a perfectly steamed veggie momo, but it's difficult to tell as the whole thing tastes like a county fair snack.

Momo2Go also has a large menu of Indian and Indo-Chinese fusion dishes, like noodle stir fries, and saucy gravy entrees, like the gobi Manchurian ($12.99), which was respectably spicy for a fast-food joint. Momo2Go was one of the most interesting fast-casual meals we've had in recent memory.

Momo2Go, 231 Jericho Tpke., New Hyde Park, 516-216-1281, momo2go.com. Open noon to 9:30 p.m. daily.