Magnificent Momos at Darjeeling Kitchen and Cafe in Astoria

Chef Pupu Chhangi, whom everyone at this charming new cafe in Astoria seems to just call Auntie, grew up in Darjeeling, a city in northeast India famous for its railway, its tea gardens, and, of course, its zingy, hearty, multicultural cuisine.    

"Darjeeling is really close to the India-Nepal border," Tashi Lama, whose wife Tsering Dolkar is the co-owner of Darjeeling Kitchen and Cafe with Chhangi, told Hell Gate. "So, we have a lot of Nepalese people who live in Darjeeling as well, and a lot of Indians, and a lot of Bengalis because it's in West Bengal state, and a lot of Tibetans, who settled here after they fled Tibet. It's a melting pot, like Queens, and the food there is a mixture of everything."