Tag: conway

Food Review: Katmandu Momo in Conway

I have always enjoyed Katmandu’s food truck, but was very excited to try their brick-n-mortar restaurant in Conway, because I knew they have many more food options and I wanted to try them! Here’s the breakdown:

ENVIRONMENT

Located in downtown Conway, Katmandu is easy to find and large enough to accommodate everyone that came in for a Friday night dinner without a wait.

MENU

https://www.facebook.com/katmandumomo/menu/

You can find their menu on their Facebook page, in the link above. However, there were some items that have been permanently removed from it. So, the current menu has the following scratched out and no longer available:
-Chatamari with chicken, beef, or pork (rice crepe topped with ground meat,  eggs, red onions, and cilantro.)
-Chatamari with veggies
-Any pork items- pork dumplings were no longer available for any dish.

I was really looking forward to trying that chatamari, so that was a little disappointing. Hopefully they bring it back as a special sometimes.

FOOD

Kakro Ko Achar, $5.99
Description: Nepali-style cucumber salad.

This appetizer, though small for $6, was delicious! But be warned, it has quite the kick! It was definitely the spiciest thing I tried tonight, but it was also crunchy and refreshing. I believe the most prominent ingredient in the sauce was sesame oil, with some rice wine vinegar and cilantro, plus something spicy!

Jhol Momo, $10.99
Description: Soup momo, choice of beef, chicken, or veggies.

My friend warned me that this dish was pretty spicy, too spicy for her, so beware.  Well, I love spicy and this momo in a thick curry-like soup sounded perfect. It was great! Oddly, it was the least spicy thing I tried. Perhaps there can be some inconsistencies in their recipe?  Or perhaps my friend is just super sensitive to any spice?
Either way, I got chicken in this momo and it was tender and flavorful. I loved the soup/ sauce and thought it went really well with the steamed momo.

Chili Momo, $10.99
Description: Fried momo (choice of beef, chicken, or veggies) stir fried in sweet and spicy sauce, mixed with bell peppers, carrots, and cilantro

This dish was definitely the star of the show! FRIED momo (I got beef in this dish) covered in this thick, sweet and spicy sauce with some sauteed veggies was absolutely delicious! The sauce was perfectly balanced, sweet with a little heat. The momo stayed crunchy until the end. It was soo good. The beef inside the momo did seem a little tough, perhaps due to the fryer. So, next time I’ll try it with chicken or the veggie momo. But I will definitely, always order this dish! It was everyone at the table’s favorite, by far.

OVERALL

The food is so unique and tasty, I do love this place. However, be prepared to wait a while for your food.  It is probably not ideal for grabbing a quick lunch.  Also, if you’re sticking to the cucumber or momo dishes, these ran pretty small. So, order a couple things to try. Though, I have heard reports that the rice and noodle dishes are very large. I’ll have to try that chow main soon!

Food Review: Naru in Conway

Environment

A shopping center used to be seen as a place no good restaurant could be found. Maybe it still is to some people. However, I have found many good restaurants across the U.S. that are amazing and found in shopping centers. While this one isn’t amazing, it is worth checking out.
The interior, though…lime green walls everywhere, even the bathrooms. The specials were written on dirty chalk boards and were barely legible. However, at 3 p.m. on a Sunday, several of the seats were full. I thought…this should be interesting.
Once we sat down for a couple minutes, we all realized we were freezing to death. I am very hot-natured and I was shaking. We all went to get coats out of the truck pretty quickly.

Menu

                   

WAY too big. I swear it took us over 30 minutes just to decide what we wanted. There is sushi (way too many of those to choose from as well) that includes fried rolls, baked rolls, specialty rolls, and then the usual basic rolls and sashimi.
Then, there’s everything from salads and fried rice to Thai dishes and bibimbop. I didn’t know where to go with this place!
On a positive note, I am sure there is something for EVERYONE here.

Drinks

Hallelujah! 2 for 1 ($6, so $3 each) margaritas, on the rocks only, at a sushi/ Thai/ who-knows-what-else restaurant? I’ll take it! They made each one by hand and the regular margaritas were pretty good, and a nice size for $3. The strawberry one should probably be avoided, unless you love that fake strawberry syrup.

Food

FREE Onion Soup

I love anything free, but this soup was pretty large and very tasty. Plus, it was very warm, which warmed us up quite nicely in the frigid environment.

FREE Fried Spring Rolls

Something else, free? This is great! While there was no sauce to dip them in, as our other eating companions complained, I don’t care. Dipped into just soy sauce, these were light and crispy and very appreciated.

 

House Salad, $4.95
Description: Fresh Lettuce, cucumber, daikon, and sesame seeds with ginger peanut dressing

While this was a nice sized salad for $5, big enough to split as a started between two people, this house salad was nothing special due to a pretty inferior dressing. I love ginger dressings at most Japanese restaurants- whether it is thick or thin, I love that gingery twang. This definitely lacked that. It also lacked any real peanut flavor. It was just a unique tasting vinaigrette. Not my favorite. Though, I liked the pickled daikon on the salad, I would not order this again.

Thai Pineapple Spicy Fried Rice, $14.95
Description: Fresh spices and pineapple with beef, chicken, shrimp, and fresh vegetables.

This was by far my favorite thing (even though I didn’t order it) ordered at our table. It was HUGE and piled high. This was probably the most flavorful fried rice I have ever tried. It didn’t need any extra soy or spices, it held up all on its own. The yumyum dipping sauce didn’t go ignored, though, because it’s yumyum sauce!
There was also a ton of steak, chicken, and shrimp, all cooked very well. The veggies were also perfectly seared but still al-dente.
Plus, this came with a side salad with that same vinaigrette and just some iceburg lettuce, so nothing special, but a nice addition.
For $15 (almost the same price of many of the rolls on the menu) this is a great deal. I’m sure there are 3 meals to be had in this one dish.

Hendrix Roll, $13.95 (Top)
Description: Thinly sliced and marinated beef, crab, daikon, tamago, cucumber, avocado, and spinach

Especially for the price, I was a tad disappointed. Mostly because I hate rolls with the seaweed on the outside, it is so hard for me to eat. If I had known that, I would not have ordered it, even if it were only $5.
However, the beef inside was very flavorful, though a little chewy. And I pulled the insides out to eat it and I swear there was only beef, cucumber, and daikon. I couldn’t find any tamago, crab, avocado, or spinach?

Hollywood Roll, $11.50 (Bottom)
Description: Tempura shrimp, crab, and cucumber. Topped with white tuna and tobiko with spicy aioli and creamy sauce.

This  was my favorite roll I tried (besides these two and Lori’s two, mentioned below). It tasted very fresh and the cucumber gave it a little crunch, which I need in a sushi roll. Though, it was nothing to write home about, so I would try other rolls next time.

Miami Roll, $12.95 (Top)
Description: Baked roll with crab, avocado, and cucumber, topped with scallop, crab, masago, and spicy aioli

While I love a good baked roll, mostly because of the top with baked scallops and crab and sauces, this roll was just a little mushy for me. Again, I have to have some texture balance in sushi and there wasn’t enough here. But if you have never had a baked roll, you must try it, they are some of the best!

Crunch Munch Roll, $9.95 (Bottom)
Description: Spicy crab and avocado topped with cooked shrimp and crunch

First of all, I don’t believe this was the roll that was ordered. This roll lacked both shrimp and crunch and was just a ball of mush. No thanks.

Overall

*IMPORTANT*
We were told by the waitress that now on Wednesdays and Saturdays (11-9) they have 1/2 off sushi.

This changes everything. I will definitely be back to try different sushi rolls, to get those cheap margaritas, and to get a take home box of that Thai fried rice!