01/20/09

For a unique Tibetan dining experience that liberates you from the same ?ol, same ?ol, take a trip to Rangzen.

by hardinghouseinncambrdge

This hidden gem on a quiet side street off Central Square is one Boston?s few Tibetan restaurants. Rangzen - which means freedom - has calming eastern music, warm wood, and exotic artwork that relaxes diners the moment they arrive. On the wall is a huge photo of snow-capped Khawa Karpo, one of the sacred mountains in Himalayas. Tibet?s geographic location explains the food, which is influenced by China, India and Thailand. Scrumptious appetizers include the Shogo Numtak - mashed potato with cilantro and ginger, rolled in bread and fried; and the Duluma Numtak - sliced eggplant fried in chick pea batter. For main courses, try their famous vegetable, beef or chicken Momos - dumplings filled with cabbage, spinach & garlic, and served with a hot jalape?o-cilantro dipping sauce. Other favorites include the Langsha Chow - noodles sauteed with beef, shredded carrots and scallions; and the Tsel Temma - a semi-sweet dish of chickpeas, spinach and onions. The breads are also out of this world. Get the Shogo Phaley, whole-wheat bread stuffed with mashed potatoes and ginger; or the fried chickpea flour poppadums served with spicy relish. They also have a great lunch buffet. For a unique dining experience that liberates you from the same ?ol, same ?ol, take a trip to Rangzen.

10/04/08

Light and satisfying Tibetan cuisine

by dkstacks

This is a regular eating spot for me. Everything I've ordered there has been great---satisfying and light. I never feel heavy and tired after eating there. Also, for lunch they offer a all-you-can-eat buffet where you can taste a wide variety of Tibetan food. It's also very reasonably priced, without alcoholic beverages I usually spend about $15-$20 for a dinner (including either a dessert or an appetizer). Check it out!

10/03/08

Honestly, the worst Tibetan food I've ever had

by wrestler

I recently moved to boston from Seattle where we have a myriad of Tibetan restaurants. I'm not trying to say I'm an expert on Tibetan food, but I have dined at a number of different Tibetan restaurants so I've got a decent idea of how particular dishes stack up against each other.

I'm a huge fan of momo - the momos here are terrible and vastly overpriced. They resemble chinese dumplings more than Tibetan momo, and they're gross. They're definitely homemade though. The dipping sauce is overpowering, a splash is all you need for the entire dish. They were dry and the ratio of filling to dough was like 1:4. To make them edible I discarded half of the dough from each momo.

We also tried two vegetarian dishes and a fried vegetable appetizer - the name escapes me. A bunch of vegetables fried in chickpea flower. The potato was the funniest - an entire potato dipped in flour and fried. The center wasn't even cooked.

I usually like to try restaurants twice before I give them the thumbs down on the theory that the chef may have had a bad night, but this was so bad that there really isn't room for enough redemption. Save yourself and go somewhere else.

• Pros: nice ambience
• Cons: the food, nuff said