Chronicle Critic Finds Momos With a Perfect Kick in Cedar Park

Chronicle critic Melanie Haupt ventured to a Cedar Park strip mall to find a gem in Indian-Nepalese restaurant Yak & Yeti. The restaurant opened on 200 Buttercup Creek Boulevard in October 2019.

Haupt described many of Yak’s dishes — such as the saag paneer, chicken tikka masala and kheer sweet rice pudding — as “comparable to other Indian restaurants in town.” However, she found something special in the “spicy and bright” Nepali Khana set, a grouping of small vegetarian dishes like dal and mustard greens.

At only $11, a lunchtime buffet yielded “fragrant” channa masala and “creamy and delicious” dal makhani. Haupt also “very much enjoyed” the mango lassi.

Haupt was slightly disappointed by the spicy rice (spices and seasonings were inconsistently dispersed throughout), a lunchtime tandoori chicken (“dry”), and sweet balls called sooji laddu.

Despite that, Haupt’s favorite dish was the sadheko momos, a type of marinated Nepalese dumplings:

Eight dainty rice-paper purses are filled with peas, cauliflower, and cheese and steamed, then sunk into a bright tomato-­based chili sauce and topped with fresh ginger, garlic, and cilantro. They’re tart and just the right level of spicy.

Overall, Haupt said she would visit if she lived closer and was glad she had visited, but it would not be worth a special trip.

• Restaurant Review: Tibetan Dumplings Shine at Yak & Yeti in Cedar Park [Chronicle]