The Washington Post Magazine - USA (2022-05-29)

28 May 29 , 2022

Diningwith Tom Sietsema

A mountain

of a meal,

and there’s

no lack of yak

Manager-owner Dip Jarga Magar and chef-owners Tuk Gurung and Keshar Jarga stand with Rocky the yak.

photo: Deb Lindsey

Unrated during the

pandemic

Himalayan

Wild Yak

22885 Brambleton

Plaza, Ashburn, Va.

703-760-3710.

himalayanwildyak.

com. Open: Indoor

and outdoor dining

and takeout and

delivery daily from

noon to 9:30 p.m.

Prices: Appetizers $8

to $15, main courses

$12 to $35 (biryani

for two). Sound

check: 70 decibels/

Conversation is easy.

Accessibility: No

barriers at entrance;

restrooms are ADA-

compliant. Pandemic

protocols: Staff wear

masks and are

vaccinated.

A

s restaurant mascots go, I’d be hard-pressed to come up

with a catchier one than “Rocky,” the charm at one of the

best new restaurants in Northern Virginia.

Big and hairy, he’s the first thing you see when you step

inside Himalayan Wild Yak in Ashburn. Tuk Gurung, who co-

owns the Nepalese restaurant with fellow chef Keshar Jarga and

Dip Jarga Magar, says they wanted the interior to be as

distinctive as the cooking at the Brambleton Town Center

restaurant. With the help of a farmer in Pennsylvania — the

source of some of the yak on the menu — and a taxidermist,

there’s no forgetting the establishment, a sprawling bar and

dining room with mountain views (courtesy of a colorful mural,

that is).

The beast shares its stage with a beauty — the food — and a

menu that shrugs off supply chain issues with more than 30

choices. Gurung and Magar come to the project from the very

good Royal Nepal in Alexandria, which they left in search of

bigger quarters. It took me all of one visit to fall under the spell

of the place, which rolled out in December and greets diners

with the traditional sel roti, rings of fried rice-flour bread served

with turmeric-colored radish batons. Cross a doughnut with a

bagel and you get an idea of what to expect of the crisp-chewy

festival snack.

Every other table seems to be dressed with momos. Make

sure you ask for some of these steamed dumplings, too. They