Top Cafe Tibet

I have only had Tibetan food twice in my life before tonight so I was intrigued when a group of foodies invited me along to visit a new Tibetan restaurant that had recently opened up in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. It was originally just a local deli that served momo’s (Tibetan dumplings) as well, but they got so popular they decided to open up a full on restaurant. Needless to say, I am not really the best judge of quality Tibetan food, but I definitely enjoyed the meal. It was BYOB so at a total cost of $11 a person (+ your own booze) it was an absolute steal.

The location is literally on top of the Coney Island bound side of the Cortelyou station on the Q line.

What we ordered and photos after the jump…

Beef & chicken momo’s (dumplings) - Both of these were good. They were similar in style to xiao long bao (soup dumplings) you get at Shanghainese places, but without the soup and different spices. I definitely would order both if the group was large enough, but if I had to choose I would go with the beef ones because they were slightly juicier.
Aloo khatsa (spicy potato mixture) - This wasn’t that spicy actually, but quite tasty and unique.
Channa khatsa (spicy small and large garbanzo beans) - An interesting combination of two kinds of beans I have had before in Indian food, but usually not together. Also, not as spicy as I originally thought, but pretty good.
Eggplant and potato (I forgot the real name) - Another interesting vegetable dish that I would get again if I knew what to call it…
Lamb curry - I liked the stewed vegetables and the flavor it got from the lamb, but the lamb I got didn’t have too much meat on it and wasn’t that great.
Chili pork - This was pretty good, and it came with some tingmo (see below) to sop up the sauce
Goat sausage - This was a mixture of goat meat and blood. Either it was overcooked or it is supposed to be that dry. Either way, I wasn’t a fan of it.
Channa Chole (large garbanzo beans in a sauce) - Another interesting take on a common indian dish. Not as spicy, but with a few different flavors in there.
Logo Patsel w/ chicken (chicken and cabbage) - This was probably my favorite meat dish. We got more tingmo with this which was great.
Tingmo (steamed bread) - This seems like the “dumplings” I get at the Bohemian Hall in Astoria which I also love to sop up their delicous sauce. It is probably a stylistic difference, but the ones here were much chewier and denser which I really liked. They were also served warm so I have a clear winner in my head.

The full menu was scanned in courtesy of the Ditmas Park blog.

Photos:

Chili Pork & Tingmo (foreground)
Beef & Chicken Momos (background)

Lamb Curry with Rice

Top Cafe Tibet
1510 Courtelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11226
(718) 282 3750