Siliguri 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

Bengali sweets

Kolkata's extraordinary mithai culture—rosogolla, mishti doi, sandesh (chena with flavoring), chum chum, rajbhog, lyangcha and jalebi; Bengal's sweet tradition considers each preparation a textural and flavor art requiring precise chena-moisture control

Nepali food

The Nepali-heritage cuisine of Sikkim, Darjeeling and the Himalayan foothills—dal bhat tarkari (lentil-vegetable-rice), gundruk soup, sel roti, achar pickles and tongba; the staple meal is a circular steel plate with rice, dal gravy, vegetable and spiced pickle

Tea garden fresh tea

The single most authentic tea experience—buying first flush Darjeeling directly from estate cooperative stores in Kurseong and Darjeeling town; the leaves are harvested weeks prior; the natural muscatel note in unblended single-estate first flush cannot be found in any packaged product