Momo Central Brunswick

November 10, 2023

   

I've had my eye on Momo Central for a while - the Brunswick outlet is close to a couple of my healthcare providers, to the 'fancy' IGA, and to the former location of Samba's Jhol Momo. We met up there for dinner after work on a hot Friday evening when we couldn't face cooking. Though they have some beer on tap we were both glad for the non-alcoholic drinks selection, including a carbonated Himalayan lemonade with mint and black salt and a small mango lassi.

This bought us time to cool down and browse the menu in more detail. There were lots of dish names that I was unfamiliar with, but between a photo-menu of the highlights and some googling, I figured out our options. Chicken, beef, lamb and goat were common across the menu and there were often vegan altenatives. Gluten-free options were not clearly marked.

   

Of course, we had to have a decent shot at the momos, and agreed that the vegan momo platter ($28) was the best way to do that. All the momos seemed to have the same mostly-cabbage filling, but otherwise there were four variations: plain steamed, plain fried, steamed and topped with a fresh mix of onion, capsicum, tomato and chilli (which I think is called sadheko), fried and topped with hot sauce (which I think they call chilli). We enjoyed the filling and the spiciness, but the momo wrappers were not as tender or as crisp as we'd been hoping for. 

   

We were more impressed with our first experience of bara, a Nepalese style savoury lentil pancake ($12.50). We chose the version that included egg, and it arrived hot and aromatic just as we were dividing up our last couple of momos. It had a thin and crisp crust, a medium-dense, velvety interior, and a welcome spicy side sauce.

Staff at Momo Central Brunswick were friendly, and the atmosphere was casual and bright. Its varied menu of  slightly inconsistent dishes contrasts with the one-thing-done-well approach that Samba's Jhol Momo used to take. By coincidence, migrantmeals discussed Nepalese restaurants and momos today, and there's clearly more around for us to try. If there's one more thing in Momo Central's favour, it's their proximity to Luther's Sccops.

   

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Momo Central Brunswick

600 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

9193 1235

menu: one, two

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Accessibility: There is a step up at the door. Low tables and chairs with backs are densely packed inside, with a wide pathway through the middle. We ordered at the table and paid at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.