Wow! Momo

Wow! Momo

A Momoteria with Many Choices!

By Lt Col (Retd) D Purushothaman Pillay

"Momo" is a stuffed dumpling, which is a traditional delicacy of the Tibetan and Nepalese cuisine.  They are very popular in the frontier regions of Bhutan, and the Himalayan borders of India including Sikkim, Leh-Ladakh, Darjeeling, Arunachal Pradesh and any other location with a significant Nepalese Diaspora, like Delhi, Assam, Shillong, West Bengal etc. It is similar to the Chinese 'Baozi' & 'Jiaozi', the Mongolian 'Buuz' or the Japanese 'Gyoza' steamed buns.

“Wow! Momo”, is a rapidly growing brand of Quick Service Restaurants that was born in Kolkata. It is an awe-inspiring, five year old success story, starring two, still in their 20s, enterprising, 'Non-MBA', commerce graduates from St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, named Sagar J Daryani and Binod Kumar Homagai.

In Aug 2008, with a borrowed capital of Rs Twenty Thousand from Daryani's father, and the fortuitous arrival of an expert Momo cook from Homagai's hometown in Nepal, these two 22 year olds, established their first outlet, at a 36 sq ft kiosk at Spencer's, in Tollygunge, Kolkata. That venture, has since grown, to become the first Pan-Indian branded Momo chain, under the active mentoring, funding and venture support of primarily, The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) and Indian Angel Networks (IAN) among others. These two visionaries must be acclaimed for their foresight and credited for making the humble street food - 'Momo' into a winning business proposition. By September 2011, the brand attained a whopping turnover of Rs 2.4 Crore, from a chain that had expanded to more than 25 outlets.

The first couple of years were invested in the hard work, of perfecting the production, distribution and operations front. This phase also witnessed a double digit proliferation of outlets in Kolkata. Thereafter in 2011, enriched with the precious lessons of the Kolkata experience, expansion and consolidation, these industrious and ambitious entrepreneurs, felt adequately equipped and encouraged, to venture out into newer markets. The brand 'Wow! Momo', first moved out to Bangalore, and then further onto Pune, thereafter it quickly added Chennai and Coimbatore, to its growing network of cities. Now courtesy two enthusiastic foodies, Haris and Rizwan Ali of M/s Sulfyaz, the first Wow!Momo outlet in Kochi, was successfully started a few months back, in the Food Court, at the Lulu Mall.

The expansion to newer geographies made experimentation a necessity. Their Momos evolved into different shapes and styles, and introduced newer fillings, over time, including Prawn, Pomfret, Chicken & Cheese, Chicken & Capsicum, Paneer, Corn-Spinach and Mushroom.

In the Kochi outlet, one is offered the option of 9 different types of fillings. It is further sub-divided into 5 non-vegetarian options, that includes Chicken, Fish, Chicken Capsicum, Prawn and Chicken Schezwan Momos and 4 vegetarian options, that includes Veggie, Paneer, Mushroom and Corn-Spring Onion Momos.

These are always served with 2 distinct types of sauces, ‘The Red Chili Dip’ a flaming hot sauce and another sauce with an Indian twist ‘The Green Coriander Dip’.

The Momos are presented in a staggering 6 different forms, namely - Steamed, Fried, Pan Fried (With a further 2 variants i.e. Schezwan Sauce and Tomato Garlic Sauce), Sizzler Momos, Momo Burgers (Momburg) and Dessert Chocolate Momos.

 

A serving or plate denotes a total of 5 number of Momos. The per plate pricing of various types of Non-Veg Momos are between Rs 95-110 for Steamed, Rs 105-120 for Fried & Rs 115-135 for Pan Fried ones.

The per plate pricing of various types of Veg Momos are between Rs 80-95 for Steamed, Rs 90-105 for Fried & Rs 100-120 for Pan Fried ones.

Other than the Momos one also has the option of trying out two variants of Thukpas, a kind of mildly flavored soup with noodles, vegetables and optionally meat. They are substantial and quite filling. Chicken Thukpa is priced only at Rs 95 a bowl and the Vegetable Thupka is Rs 90. My word, this warm broth, is a special treat for the palate, that serves as a perfect briny, appetising fluid that lends a welcome warmth to the gullet, in this blustery, cool, rainy monsoon weather.

The Sizzler Momos are priced between Rs 175-205.

The Momo Burger (Moburg) is priced Rs 45 for Veg and Rs 55 for Chicken.

The very innovative, melt in the mouth, dessert Chocolate Momo costs Rs 40/Momo or Rs 120/Platter of 4 Momos.

In addition to the above there are value options at Rs 145-155 for a Momo+Thukpa+Pepsi or a Rs 165-175 Momo+Thukpa+Moburg+Pepsi. There are other mini-value, flexi-combos priced between Rs 25-55 to choose from.

This 11 AM to 11 PM snacking option, is comparitively modestly priced and with the accompanying wow-flexi deals, is a good value for money offering, when compared to the other less exciting and pricier choices the Food Court currently affords. The momos we tried were all very tasty and well stuffed, cooked and presented, except for the Prawn Momos which we occasioned to have, they were grossly under stuffed and hardly had any prawns. Be warned that, that there are no credit cards accepted and no home deliveries yet. However, the service was prompt and efficient and the staff courteous and helpful. One other pertinent observation made, was that this outlet, was most certainly much neater and more hygienic, than all the other Momo joints that we had eaten in, elsewhere in town. We all quite enjoyed our experience and would certainly return for a quick bite, in our future forays into Lulu Mall. The energy and the bustle, in the common seating area must have also contributed to our feeling of pleasurable satisfaction.

Thanks to Wow! Momo, if one hasnt tried Tibetan Momos as yet, one can sample this new cuisine, without having to travel out of town or having to hunt out nondescript, hole in the wall joints, trudging through dusty by-lanes, map in hand. One can now also enjoy different variants of this wonder dumpling, in the comfort of an airconditioned mall, in our very own Kochi!

Wow! Momo

Food Court, Third Floor,

Lulu Mall, Kochi

Contact Person - Owner Haris B.B. or Store Manager Sameer – 09746586365

Email - info@wowmomo.co.in

Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wow-Momo/165456736798479

Website - http://www.wowmomo.co.in/

National Head Office:-

Yo Foods India

29A/2E/1, Near Sulekha More, Loknath Mandir, Raja S.C. Mullick Road. Jadavpur University, Kolkata - 700032

Landline - 033-24292473

Mobile   - +91-9432649983