A Taste of the Himalayas in Heights of Jackson

Welcome back to this week’s #ShopLocalSaturday; where I highlight local eats and shops that I have visited. This week is featuring  Himalayan Yak  in Jackson Heights, Queens!

On my way to a business workshop, I was passing by an area where I used to live in Queens; Jackson Heights/Elmhurst. It was definitely been a while since I walked around the area. For the most part; it seems that nothing major has changed, still the same neighborhood and feel when I left to back to Brooklyn. I figured to indulge in some eats that’s unique in Jackson Heights. I opened my app to find that Himalayan Yak Restaurant was in walking distance in where I was. I actually almost did not find the place because of how the doors looked like; they appears to be an entrance to a place of worship (with images of Buddha), until I looked up and found the giant sign above in lights.

Walking in; there were a lot of tables, good for a group lunch/dinner, or for a small party of up to 6. There was also a bar area; which was where I ended up sitting at. What was pretty interesting to me; was that there was a small stage area that had velvet rope around it, so it seems that sometimes, there are are live performances on some nights. Unfortunately, I didn’t was not there long enough to see if there was a live performance that night.

Looking over the menu; there was mix of familiar dishes that I would find on an Indian menu, like curry, goat, and saag. But there was a bigger list of items that I was not so familiar with (because it was my first time trying Tibetan and Nepali food); I decided to get a thali platter, so that I could try a mix of dishes of what Tibetan and Nepali was like. The platter was called Daal Bhat Taraki with chicken.

The plate; as seen above comes with a variety of mini-dishes to make up an entire meal. It contains rice, a small salad, a lentil soup, a saag, veggie curry, pickles, a rice pudding, more various vegetables (under the papad; a crispy wafer), along with my main protein of chicken. A word of warning to those who cannot handle spice, or has a low spice tolerance (like me…); it’s best not to get this particular dish. Not to say it was not good; but my taste buds seems more focused on the spice level than how the food tasted. It was mostly the vegetables that were beating me down with their spice level. It actually was a good thing that I had the rice pudding (which was sweet) though, because it was pretty much the only thing that was saving my mouth from the rising effects of the spiciness of the food. Maybe I should have asked for more of that rice pudding (that was how much I needed it).

I enjoyed the chicken; it was in small chunks that you can take your time enjoying it, and it was in a curry sauce that was fairly mild in spice.Mixing the chicken with the rice was a good combo, and papad was good as a in between dish intermittent. I definitely enjoyed the chicken and the rice pudding the most, out of every dish that was on the thali.

To end, if you’re looking for Nepali/Tibetan cuisine in Queens; I would recommend Himalayan Yak Restaurant. It has a very strong Buddhist-oriented tone, so you can definitely see the culture all around the place. As mentioned before; it is very ideal for a group dinner hangout, or a small gathering of friends to meet up and eat. I would like to be back again soon to try some of their dumplings (called momos), and some other dishes which are not drowning in spice to torture my poor taste buds…But overall, this was a nice introduction to Nepali/Tibetan food, hope to be back again!

As a bonus; if you do wanna get the most bang for your buck; I’ll leave you with the following options below with my links, so that you can earn cash back on what you order while you’re at Masala King. (adding a new cashback program to this list; Dosh!)

Also nice to see it featured in Michelin Guide !

Know of any other local shops that you enjoy going to that you want to be highlighted? Leave a comment and let me know! Always open to suggestions!

And as always,

Remember to always support your local establishments! They are a part of your community!

-The Eric Fong