Jongno Nepalese curry restaurant for spicy shrimp chili: Namaste

I took a day off to look around Dongmyo Toy Street!! Since it was a weekday, there were hardly any people, which was nice—but the downside was that there were so few people that beginners might wander around a bit wondering where to look. After an hour or two, off we go for food~!

Nepalese curry near Dongmyo Toy Street

Dongmyo seems to have a lot of curry places. I visited one of the Dongmyo curry restaurants with a Blue Ribbon badge.

Right in front of Exit 5 of Dongmyoap Station—so close that if you fell outside the station, your nose would practically hit it—

Namaste Restaurant

It is also very close to the toy street. It seems like the perfect route: get off at Dongdaemun Station, browse the toy street, then come here! The shade was cool, but the sun was still hot, so I was starting to get a little tired. Perfect timing.

The building is a little worn-looking, but the sign and entrance are clean. The large signs make it absolutely easy to find. It looks like Nepalese curry.

A row of Blue Ribbon stickers posted at the counter. There are more stretching out to the right. They got one again this year!

A quiet, comfortable restaurant on a weekday

Maybe because it was a weekday, it was quiet. Even better. (Two or three more tables did fill up while we were eating.) The restaurant was comfortable and spacious, and the restroom was conveniently right by the door and clean too.

Indian- and Nepalese-style decor. India or Nepal, anyway—it was cutely decorated to give that local feel.

What we chose in the couples set

I wanted to try various sides too, and I could not be bothered choosing from the menu, so I ordered the couples set right away. I remember the individual curries being around ₩13,000 each.

Couples Set ₩50,000 Samosas Chicken tikka Shrimp chili Chicken makhani curry Vegetable curry Plain rice Garlic naan Choose one: tea, lassi, or yogurt

For my drink, I chose lassi, which I have every time I come to a curry restaurant.

This is what comes in the couples set. It looks like little food, but it is very filling once you start eating! With Indian curry, I always look at the amount of curry and wonder if it might be too little, but somehow it ends up feeling plentiful. Pickles and something like dressed onions came as side dishes. The onion salad was cool and delicious.

Basmati rice and a dessert that caught my eye

Rice for curry has to be Indian-style rice, so I ordered basmati rice separately. I do not really know the difference between basmati and jeera rice. Looking at it now, I am curious about the desserts too—especially rasgulla. What is that soft cheese dessert soaked in syrup? I should try it next time.

From shrimp chili to chicken makhani

Spicy shrimp chili and chicken tikka

Chicken tikka and shrimp chili. That shrimp chili sauce was completely my style. It was quite spicy, but deliciously spicy!! It kind of reminded me of the sauce on kkangpunggi, Korean-style spicy fried chicken. The shrimp were nice and plump too. The chicken tikka was reliably tasty. It was also good with curry. This one was not spicy.

Creamy chicken makhani and hearty vegetable curry

Creamy chicken makhani. The chicken pieces were big and so delicious! It is a menu item I always choose when I come to a curry place. So creamy and good ㅠㅠ I might have to get one curry per person of this next time.

For some reason, that is such a timid spoonful. I must have wanted to take the photo and eat quickly. The vegetable curry was great because it was packed with ingredients! The downside was that it included an ingredient I do not like. (Peas.) I guess lots of people like peas. But not me.

The fluffy Indian rice I ordered separately. I was worried it would come late because I ordered it after all the food had arrived, but thankfully it came out very quickly. Curry really does call for long-grain rice. Why does curry go so well with this rice?

Samosas and sweet lassi

I guess this dumpling-like pastry is a samosa. It had a curry flavor here too. The pastry was crisp and very tasty. The sauce was ordinary ketchup. Still, it was a shame that it had peas in it. I guess there are a lot of pea lovers. Not me, though.

I could not photograph it separately, so here is lassi taken from a selfie. Lassi is always good. It tastes like yogurt, but somehow different... anyway, delicious. It is sweet, so it feels like dessert.

I ate so well that I was bursting. The portions were very generous! I left just a little rice. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good curry restaurant around Dongmyoap or somewhere to eat near the toy street!