Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.09.2014, Qupperneq 55

“ 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 “
top ten the best restaurants in Iceland
the finest thai restaurant in Iceland
m a n y f a m o u s p e o p l e a r e r e g u l a r s h e r e
BanThai
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NEW AWARDS
BEST THAI FOOD
2 0 1 4
also. . . .
DV.17.07.11
Best goddamn restaurant 2011
the best thai food
This spring, Tsering Gyal and Kun Sung
opened Ramen Momo, Iceland's first Ti-
betan restaurant (although it should be
noted that it’s not Iceland’s first Hima-
layan restaurant, which is the Nepalese
restaurant Kitchen). Incidentally, Ramen
Momo is also Iceland’s first dedicated ra-
men and dumpling place, which is some
impressively specialised stuff for a coun-
try that has yet to see its first proper Mex-
ican restaurant.
Ramen Momo is located in the build-
ing that used to house Paul’s, a fancy Eng-
lish sandwich shop, and before that, Café
Haiti, which has since moved to the teal
boathouses by the marina. So this tiny
hole-in-a-wall ramen place is continuing
the concatenation of expat restaurants
offering niche food. As a stereotypical
downtown rat, I am easily charmed by
tiny ethnic restaurants, and am further
susceptible to their charms for having
grown up in the greater Reykjavík area
before it started trying on cosmopolitan
suave for size. In short, I'm a sucker for
these places.
Ramen Momo is the shining jewel in
an otherwise achingly dull complex of
luxury housing built during the boom
years. They have seats for about eight
people (plus two outside, weather per-
mitting). We ate from high chairs, facing
the street through the front window, near
the handmade incense sticks and prayer
flags for sale.
I can't claim much knowledge about
Tibetan cuisine but cursory research tells
me it’s positioned roughly between In-
dian and Chinese (which certainly makes
sense geographically). But the cuisine of
Ramen Momo must definitely be leaning
on the Chinese side (again…).
Ramen Momo may be a two-man
restaurant but it’s a one-man show. I’ve
never seen more than one of the own-
ers behind the counter, preparing dishes
from scratch, washing dishes by hand,
and serving customers food and polite
banter.
Aside from side dishes, they serve four
main things: Steamed bun sandwiches
(1490 ISK), ramen noodles (1,490 ISK),
udon noodles (1,490 ISK), and momo
dumplings (1,290 ISK). We ordered the
beef ramen, soba with deep-fried prawn
and a side of dumplings.
The ramen came with a traditional
wooden spoon and they asked if we want-
ed it spicy (you should say yes, your stuffy
winter nose wants you to). For all of Ra-
men Momo's trailblazing efforts, their
ramen still leave something to be desired.
The broth is adequately balanced and im-
pressively clear but a little on the bland
side. It would benefit from deeper umami
and something a little sharp.
The udon noodles with deep-fried
prawns were much closer to the mark,
spicy and complex. My only gripe would
be that there was not enough protein at
1,500 ISK a bowl.
The momos felt quite similar to Japa-
nese gyoza dumplings and they were
thoroughly excellent. Medium-thick
fried dumplings with a spring roll-like
filling and a lovely sweet chilli sauce.
They were also reasonably priced (1,290
ISK for eight dumplings is not bad when
you're paying 1,000 ISK for five frozen
mozzarella sticks and Casa Fiesta salsa at
your lower rung bistro).
Not content with the Chinese-Indian
fusion, Ramen Momo have further com-
plicated things with some Japanese in-
fluences, and are better for it as a result.
That being said, I can't wait until these
guys manage to wrangle a yak or two
through customs to really get the party
started.
Everybody Loves Ramen
RAGNAR EGILSSON
MATTHEW EISMAN
FOOD
FOR YOUR MIND BODY AND SOUL
What We Think:
Great dumplings, good udon,
decent ramen
Flavour:
Light Tibetan dishes
Ambiance:
Tiny and incredibly welcoming
Service:
They are possibly the most
pleasant people I've seen in this
business
Price for 2 (no drinks):
3-5000 ISK
Ramen Momo
Tryggvagata 16, 101 Reykjavík
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