Druk LCA

i had been hearing about this place for a while and wanted to check it out, so when i found myself biking down 40^th yesterday evening around 6pm i stopped at the Druk LCA to see if the rumors were true.
as other reviewers have said… this place is tiny and it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. it makes Mother India look huge. it’s tucked away in a corner of the grocery store. when you go in just go to the right a bit and you’ll come upon a small room with two tables in it… that’s it. when i arrived two couples had just got there before me so i was relegated to sit at the small shelf /​bar against a mirrored wall. i didn’t mind this at all but realize if you come with 2 – 4 people you will fill this place. while i was there numerous people came to pick up carry-​out so that probably makes up most of their biz, not their sit down customers.

i don’t know anything about Bhutanese cuisine, but seeing that the regulars (customers mostly appear to be Bhutanese, Pakistani, and Indian) come here means it’s gotta be good. i ordered their daily ‘momo chicken/​veggie’ special. it’s basically vegetable soup with momo (dumplings). the soup was really good, and next time i will definitely order some naan to eat it with. then there’s the momos. again, i had no idea what i was ordering at first but man i was pleasantly surprised. these dumplings are good! they had a chicken and veggie mix in them. i assume you can order them without meat too. they were not served very hot but i didn’t mind because the kicker was the sauce. there’s this Druk hot chili/​mustard seed sauce that they get from back home that they even sell in the grocery store. a small side of this stuff comes with the dumplings but be warned… IT’S REALLY SPICY!!! i enjoyed it but i’m Mexican and i like spicy food, for most others though it will probably be too hot.
price was $ 7 for the soup & momo combo. add a naan and maybe something else and you still will walk out of there spending $ 9 – 11 including tip. i will definitely be going back to try the rest of their menu.

Serendipity — the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. After walking into the breakfast joint across the street (Lisa’s Radial Café) and discovering a 20 minute wait on a Sunday morning, I was walking back to my car when I discovered this hidden gem of a restaurant tucked into a Nepalese/​Bhutanese grocery store. I was amazed to discover that the kitchen was open at 9:20 a.m. and was serving the full menu!
Now, I must preface this review by stating that I LOVE authentic ethnic cuisines from the bubbling Kom Tang soup joints of K-​town in NYC to the fiery Thai beef salad at Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas. Unerringly, my touchstone of excellence is a quick eyeball of the patrons. If first generation community members are patronizing the restaurant, it passes the authenticity test. Druk LCA (a reference to the thunder dragon of Bhutanese mythology) passed this test in spades with a steady stream of Nepalese clients buying groceries and stopping by for a quick bite and conversing with the staff in their native dialect.
As my first foray into Nepalese/​Bhutanese cuisine, here were the hits:
1. Momo (dumpling) — these were plump, succulent steamed dumplings filled with a chicken and cabbage filling that were light on the tongue. When dipped into the Momo hot sauce (a fiery version of Sriracha) they were a delight! They were supposed to come with a vegetable broth but it was not ready on Sunday morning.
2. Poori (fried Indian bread) — not quite as pillowy soft and puffy as I have had elsewhere, yet these flaky oily breads were scrumptious and quickly devoured by children and adults alike. They were especially divine when dipped into this potato curry soup that was served with the samosas
3. Curry soup — not an individual entrée, but a side dish with the samosas — this was the most flavorful dish of the entire meal!
Here were the misses:
1. Samosas — underseasoned and a bit cold and soggy — not very inspiring
2. Chicken Chaumin — a noodle dish served in a curry sauce with bits of what appeared to be tandoori chicken — it was «ok» but nothing amazing.
Drinks — they did not have any mango lassi, so we did not really try the drinks.
Service — our waitress was friendly, quick, and helpful in explaining the dishes. We felt like we were in the family home and were made to feel welcome.
Cost — very affordable. No dish cost more than $ 7 as prior reviewers have noted, and the portions were very generous.
Overall, I thought the meal was a surprising delight and a warm and friendly introduction to Bhutanese/​Nepalese cuisine. We will be back, and we hope that you give this place a try!

It would be unfortunate if Unilocal’s current «$$$$» rating deterred new business. Nothing on the menu is more than $ 7.00, and that item is a tremendous heaping pile of delicious, seasoned noodles with chunks of vegetable and chicken. A pair of samosas come with soup for $ 3.50, but they, too, are huge, and with the soup would constitute a meal portion in any country outside North America.
The food portion of the menu is small, we tried most of what’s on it, and most of what’s on it tastes very good. The portion-​to-​price ratio is very high. Just don’t go there for the ambiance — it is simply a small room with two tables on one side of the grocery store. But, service was prompt and friendly.

Went here with come colleagues last week.
Went here on a weekday for lunch. It wasn’t crowded, but you’ll miss it if you’re not looking for it. And it has a little private lot with a few spaces, which is nice.
Good stuff! So, I didn’t really know what Nepalese food was really, but I went anyway. The food served reminds me a bit of a cross between Indian food (the spices) and Burmese food and something else.
First, the place is super simple – it’s a restaurant in a grocery store. So, don’t go in expecting a lot of pretense. Simple plastic cups and tableclothes, and only couple of laminating menus with typos. But., all of that adds to the character, right? It seemed clean, so I didn’t feel like I was putting myself in danger there, the way some family-​owned joints make me feel.
The portion sizes, for the price, are pretty good. We ordered two orders of garlic naan and they fed four people, no problem.
Two of the people at the table had the dumpling-​looking thing with chicken inside. It came with a bowl of some kind of soup with beans in it. I sampled the chicken dumpling thing and it was pretty good. There were like eight on the plate, good size portion. I am not always a dumpling person, but I’d have these again, but perhaps with the curry sauce below.
I had the vegetarian curry-​esque dish, and one of the others had the chicken version. Pretty good. Not overly spicy, but good mix of curry and potatoes and other things (fans of Indian food – seems like a cross of channa masala and aloo choley?). That came with the same soup, plus another lentil soup, plus a pickled mango. Really good. I’d try this again.
Wait staff was nice. Our food came out quickly – we were the only ones in there for about 20 minutes, before a few folks came in. Towards the end of the meal, they were offering us more curry and drinks.
Don’t be shy folks, give it a try!
Also note, they only do credit cards/​debit cards for orders over ten bucks. Otherwise, it’s cash.

This is an Asian grocery store with a very small restaurant attached to it on the corner of 40^th and Cuming. I had the vegetarian momo for $ 6.00. The restaurant sign said it was fast food and it was. The host/​cook/​waiter was very nice and I got my food about five minutes after ordering. I wasn’t quite sure what I had ordered but momo are dumplings with a cabbage filling. It was served with hot sauce on the side and a small bowl of soup– not sure what kind but it had beans, corn, and cilantro in it and had a sort of curry flavor. Everything was very good.