Momo World

-Grubbing in Chicago(land)

Nepalese Dumplings near UIC

Most of the time when a new spot opens up shop it takes a place in line on my hit list. But every now and then a place will open and it gets to go directly to the front of the line. That was the case for Momo World which opened just last week over on Maxwell street in the UIC area. Momo being Nepalese style dumplings which are quite possibly my favorite form of dumplings. I had to go.

 Newly Opened in UIC Village

During the last few years the momo has risen into the ranks of beloved dumplings of the food world. In NYC there's an annual momo crawl through Queens that attracts lots of attention from the food media world which in turn has kind of put momo in the spotlight. Just a few years ago there was virtually nowhere in Chicago to get momo. But that's changed as we now have a handful of spots where it can be found. The problem now for me is finding a place that serves beef filled momo. To me beef works best as the most common filling in Nepal is yak which we don't have easy access to. In my opinion the seasonings used in momo go best with beef. Unfortunately they aren't making beef momo at Momo World but they do have pork which is nice. Most places tend to have just chicken or veggie. 

 Pork Momo at Momo World 

An order of traditional steamed momo come ten to an order (I ate one before taking a pic) and served with a tomato based dipping sauce which along with a cilantro option is common amongst momo vendors. These were tasty but I was wishing they had the flavor combinations that made me fall in love with momo in the first place. I didn't taste much cumin, cilantro, or the other stuff. All that said what I did taste was some fresh pork with herbs which still hit the spot. The menu features momo served a bunch of different ways such as grilled on a skewer or sitting in a soup. They also offer Sekuwa in the form of a bowl. Sekuwa is a popular pork dish made from twice cooked pork that's stir fried with peppers, tomatoes and spicing. It comes served with rice and is a tasty little lunch for just $6. Clearly this place is geared towards the local college kids. I hope they embrace it bc it's much better than alot of the other stuff geared towards them. This is a family run spot as dad was making sure everything was good in front while the daughter helped take/deliver orders and mom cooked.

Sekuwa at Momo World 

Momo World
727 W Maxwell St
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-8637
Website