Meal #27: China (Part 6: Tibet)

With an average elevation of 4,900 m, Tibet is often called the “Roof of the World”, thus with high expectations we began the meal that would signify the end of the “oriental” portion of our journey.

Wild Yak
Tibetan Restaurant/Café
350 High St. Northcote
Monday – Saturday
5:30pm – 11:00pm

Wild Yak Tibetan Restaurant/Café is a two-tiered eatery, with a small dining area at the back near the bar/service area overlooking a larger dining area in the front. The walls are covered in Tibetan paintings; there are Tibetan-style light fittings; plus the prerequisite Buddhist shrine – all, combining with the brightly painted walls and ceiling, providing amble ambience for the nights dining. However we were alarmed by the stuffed yak located on above the bar, which kept a watchful and possible wild, eye on the customers below.


Wild Yak has recently moved from the older artsy, bohemian Smith St in Fitzroy, to the newer artsy, bohemian High St in Northcote. Obviously there must be a great demand for Tibetan food amongst the artsy, bohemian crowd…we tried to fit in as best as possible…

This week’s tenacious Tibetan tasters were Paul, Deb, Rami, Caroline, Helen and Naomi. We all decided to order a banquet meal in order to experience as much of the available Tibetan cuisine as possible. The staff were friendly and attentive, allowing us to include an extra vegetarian main dish in the banquet.

Banquet A:

Entrée:

Momo – Steamed beef dumplings

Tsel momo ngopa – Mixed vegetable dumplings, steamed & fried (veg)

Chasha khatsa – Chicken fillet marinated in tamari & spices, stir fried with onion & chilli

Shoko khatsa – Freshly cooked potatoes with a topping of spring onions & tomatoes (veg)

Channa khatsa – Freshly cooked chick peas with ginger & garlic (veg)

Mains:

Chasha phing – Soya bean threads sautéed with chicken fillets, fungus & fresh season vegetables

Lamb curry – Lamb cooked with pieces of potatoes in a mild curry sauce

Dhal – Slow cooked lentils with fresh herbs & spices (veg)

Tsel nyamo-kyurmo – Fresh vegetables cooked with lemon, honey, tomatoes & herbs (veg)

Tsel curry – Mixed vegetables cooked in an exotic curry sauce

Sides:

Steamed rice

Tingmo – Tibetan bun

Tibetan green salad

Herbal tea (Jasmine)


Entrée:

This meal was a true gateway between the Orient and the Indian subcontinent. Nothing highlighted this more than the dumpling entrées. Momos are steamed dumplings made from fresh coarse ground beef combined with herbs, spices, wrapped in a small parcel of hand made dough. They are reminiscent of the steamed dumplings common in other parts of China (such as Shanghai). The tsel momo ngopa, on the other hand, where reminiscent of Indian samosas as they were deep fried, and the mixed vegetable fillings were flavoured with curry. Both types of dumplings were served with a tasty hot sauce.


The chasha khatsa, shoko khatsa and channa khatsa were served together on a large plate, and the different flavours both complimented and contrasted with each other remarkably well. A small plate contained just the two vegetarian dishes was kindly provided for vegetarian diners.

Mains:

The mixing of oriental and subcontinental cooking styles was further evident with the mains course with both stir fried and curry dishes strongly represented. There was even a serving of the subcontinental classic: dahl.


The two highlights of the meal were the lamb curry and the vegetarian tsel curry. The lamb was tender and the mild curry sauce was richly flavoursome. The vegetarian curry was delightful, with the flavours present in the sauce playing wonderfully with those of the various vegetables.


The other vegetarian dish, tsel nyamo-kyurmo, possessed an interesting sweet, honey-based sauce. Unfortunately the sweetness overpowered most of the promised lemon and herb flavours. Another dish that failed to inspire was the chasha phing, however it was not due to it presentation! Served atop a bed of chicken, black fungus and vegetables is a vast nest of soya bean threads – making this dish very reminiscent of classic Chinese dishes that use a similar presentation style. The flavours, however, were overtly subtle, yet that could just be due to the curry dishes it was competing with.


Sides:

Apparently Tibetan green salad is just code word for homemade coleslaw. On the other hand, the tingmo was a favourite element of the meal for most diners. This Tibetan bun is similar in taste and texture to that of a Chinese pork bun, but without the meat filling. The tingmo was wonderful in cleansing the palette between dishes, as well as for sopping up the curry sauces.


Overall:

Wild Yak served up a delicious meal that combined the best of what the Orient and the subcontinent have to offer, including generous servings! The banquet cost only $19 each, and we were not charged for the extra vegetarian dish nor for the extra servings of rice we ordered. This more than made up for the fact the head waitress repetitively forgot to supply us with water and, subsequently, enough glasses in such hot weather. Besides the water gaffe, the staff were friendly and attentive – and we were all amused with the t-shirt that the waiter wore, and to continue the theme: yakity yak, we will come back.


Next week we begin our journey of the subcontinent; farewell oriental cuisine, we will miss you (well except the Sumatran meal – not surprisingly that restaurant has closed down since we ventured there)