Gangtok travel guide

Momos

The Himalayan dumpling beloved across North India—half-moon shaped steamed or fried wheat dough filled with pork, chicken, vegetable or cheese; the Tibetan-Nepali original is best at source in Gangtok, Darjeeling and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway towns

Thukpa

Tibetan noodle soup found throughout the Himalayas—hand-rolled wheat noodles in a clear or tomato broth with vegetables and sometimes meat; Sikkim and Darjeeling's versions use yak or pork; warming at altitude and available at 3am from street vendors during the cold months

Gundruk soup

Nepal and Sikkim's fermented greens—mustard, radish and cauliflower leaves fermented in a clay pot until sour; added to soups or eaten as pickle; available at Nepali communities throughout Sikkim and Darjeeling; a distinctive sour tang from the fermentation is the identifier

Sel roti

Nepali and Sikkimese festive rice bread—rice batter squeezed into rings in hot oil and deep-fried until hollow inside; eaten with potato curry or achar; made at home during Tihar (Diwali) and available at Nepali sweet stalls throughout Darjeeling and Sikkim

Chhurpi (yak cheese)

The hard sun-dried yak milk cheese of the Himalayan highlands—small brown cubes chewed for energy during long mountain treks; the world's hardest cheese by some measures; soft fresh chhurpi is milder and used in soups; available in markets in Gangtok and Pelling