Four Friends Tibetan Restaurant, Congleton

I ate my first Tibetan food recently, at Four Friends restaurant in Congleton, Cheshire, and loved it. Including beef momo dumplings, chicken curry, noodles and more, we enjoyed it so much we even ordered seconds! As well as being delicious, Four Friends is excellent value for money. And, as you can take your own beer or wine, it’s a great option for a budget night out.

I first spotted Four Friends restaurant while I was wandering around this year’s Congleton Food & Drink Festival.

The Tibetan restaurant on Mill Street was strung with brightly coloured prayer flags but, even without them, Four Friends would have stood out. That’s because, before that moment, I could count the number of times I’d seen a Tibetan restaurant on the fingers of… er… exactly zero hands.

The short menu in the window was an intriguing mixture of the familiar (curry, noodles, stir fries), the heard-of-but-don’t-really-know-what-it-is (momos) and, to me anyway, the downright cryptic (thenthuk, mothuk, bhaley).

So, as an enthusiastic eater with almost half a century (yikes!) under my belt, how could I resist trying a cuisine that was absolutely new to me?

Four Friends

Owners Sonam and Thenlay named their restaurant after the mythological story, popular in Tibet and elsewhere, of the Four Harmonious Friends. Depicted on wall hangings in the restaurant, an elephant stands under a fruit tree carrying a monkey, a hare and a bird on its back. This is said to represent cooperation and harmony.

Opened in early 2019, Four Friends is a small place with around nine tables. As you’d hope, not least from its name, it’s a very friendly place with an informal atmosphere. The food served is based on dishes the couple eat at home.

Four Friends also serves takeaway so, when you walk in, you’ll see a counter with small table and chair for you to wait – familiar from thousands of takeaways.

But what your local takeaway probably doesn’t have behind the counter is a huge picture of the Potala Palace in Tibet – former palace of the Dalai Lama.

In the dining room, the bright yellow walls are decorated with fascinating photographs of Tibet, maps and colourful decorative hangings. Gentle, unobtrusive music plays in the background.

It’s all attractively simple with red quarry tiles underfoot and plain wooden chairs and tables. There’s books to read if you want to come in for a solo meal or quiet cup of tea.

When we were seated, one early Saturday evening, only a couple of other tables were occupied. By the time we left, the place was packed. Good job we’d rang ahead to book.

Excited to try as many different dishes as possible, other half and I decided to share a few. We opted for everything to come at once, rather than selecting some as starters and some as mains.

Momos

The menu item I’d a recollection of having heard of was momos: traditional Tibetan stuffed dumplings.

I love a good dumpling. I’m not talking about those big, British ones bobbing about on a meaty stew (although I won’t say no to those either) but stuffed dumplings.

Until relatively recently I’d only been familiar with the Chinese variety eaten as part of dim sum (read my review of Yu-Ma-Mi to hear more about those). Then, a couple of months ago,  I discovered fabulous lamb-stuffed mantu at Afghan restaurant Hawasana. So of course I just had to try Tibetan momos.

At Four Friends the momos are handmade in the restaurant. They come stuffed with either beef or vegetables and you can have them steamed or fried. We went for the beef ones. I meant to ask for them fried but forgot, so got the steamed version.

A portion of eight, complete with a little dish of searingly hot chilli sauce, is just £7.

Inside the intricately patterned dumplings, the filling was meatily firm but still nicely moist. I don’t think there was spicing in there, just some subtle flavouring with aromatics like garlic. But I loved the  mainly pure beef flavour, surrounded by not-too-thin, not-too-thick dough.

The accompanying chilli paste was good too. You only needed a little firey dab on each mouthful to bring the whole thing alive.

I was told that the vegetable momos include mushroom, spinach, tofu, potatoes, garlic and ginger. So that they’re suitable for vegans, the chef also leaves out the egg which is in the the beef momo dough.

Whichever you try, I bet your first taste of momos won’t be your last of these moreish little things.

You can also have the dumplings served in a broth, listed on the menu as Mothuk (£7).

Chicken Curry

The chicken curry we shared (£6) was beautifully delicate. It was reminiscent of the thinner curries you might have eaten in Thai restaurants rather than thicker, complexly spiced Indian-style ones. Despite thirty-odd years of cooking, I honestly couldn’t tell you what the spices were. But that doesn’t matter. What you need to know is that it was delicious, light and intriguing.

The cubes of chicken were plentiful and cooked expertly; a couple of minutes more or less would’ve ruined their soft tenderness.

Although the sauce wasn’t full of spice, I wouldn’t want you to think this dish lacked flavour. Judging by the silky texture, I’d guess the base of the curry was a proper stock made with lots of chicken – evidenced by the glistening, shimmering surface. The result was rich and deep, satisfying flavour.

Noodles

If you fancy rice with your curry, then there’s steamed for £2 or fried, with or without veg, for £5. However, we’re both big fans of noodles so went for stir fried noodles with vegetables (£5).

Genorosity was very much in evidence again by the big plate of glistening noodles we were brought. Included in the mix were red cabbage, onion and green beans but the noodles were definitely the star of the show. Slippery and nicely coated in the aromatics.

Bread

From the short list of sides (all £2) we chose bhaley which was described as fried bread. It arrived looking like a little naan bread, with a golden, bubbly surface. Although it’s not that clear from my photo, in the middle are two little slashes, going all the way through – I’ve since learned that this is done so that the dough expands and cooks evenly.

Although fried, the bread was still soft with its texture rather like a naan. What oil the bhaley was fried in, I couldn’t say. But the bread had a pleasant, faintly sweet note with no sign of greasyness.

Cheeky Seconds

When we’d got about two thirds the way through these dishes, both of us loving them, other half paused and whispered ‘shall we order some more food?’

I was a bit taken aback. I don’t think we’ve really done that, mid-meal, in Britain. In tapas bars in Spain, of course you do that all the time. But here we tend to advance through the regulation starter-main-pud without pause.

After a bit of a conflab, we called for the menu again and ordered a couple more dishes plus another side of bhaley bread. Not because the portions we’d already had were measly, but because they were just so good! Added to that, we’d so far only spent £10 a head, so why not?

Beef & Peppers

For round two we ordered Shapta (£6); a plate of stir fried beef and peppers which also included leeks and spring onion.

This plate looked similar to a dish you might find in a Chinese restaurant. However, as with the chicken curry, the sauce was thinner and unthickened. But again the stock was exceptionally well flavoured.

The beef wasn’t the most tender I’ve ever had, although there was nothing wrong with the flavour. The green and yellow peppers retained just the right amount of crunch.

Lentil Curry

Four Friends’ Lentil Curry (£4) would be familar to anyone who’s eaten Indian daal. This was a thick soup and, like the other dishes, very subtly spiced. What spices, you may ask? I don’t know, is my by-now-familiar response.

Suffice to say, the curry had more flavour than you’ve really any right to expect from such an unassuming looking bowl. With each mouthful, that flavour seemed to grow. I don’t know what goes into the stocks and sauces at Four Friends, but they’ve a real talent for them.

Tibetan Thali

If you want to try several of these dishes, but don’t quite have the prodigious appetites of other half and I, then Four Friends’ Tibetan Thali (£8) would be perfect for you.

On the night we were there, the thali seemed to be the most popular dish coming out of the kitchen with both meat and vegetarian/vegan versions available.

From what I’ve seen, you’ll get meat or vegetable momos with the chilli dip, rice, lentil curry plus either the chicken curry or a chickpea curry. Judging by the positive comments customers were giving as their empty trays were cleared away, it’s a big hit.

Drinks

Four Friends is unlicensed, serving a selection of soft drinks, Tibetan, Indian and chai teas. But you can bring along your own alcohol which, with the outstandingly good value food, makes it a great option for a budget night out.

Recommended

I loved my first taste of Tibetan food. With dishes largely unfamiliar to me but cooked with a great feel for flavour, we just couldn’t help going back for more. Despite that, the meal didn’t feel heavy at all.

It was so cheering to see this little place, open for only a few months, full of people trying this food that’s relatively unknown in Britain. Sonam and Thenlay were very friendy and will help you choose from the menu and advise which dishes go together.

Besides all that, they offer outstanding value; we paid just £16 per head, even with the extra dishes.

Harmonious indeed.

Have you eaten at Four Friends restaurant? Leave a comment below with your thoughts. Which dishes do you recommend?

All photos © Moorlands Eater & not to be reproduced without permission

Accessibility

I’m not aware of any access statement for this restaurant and the following is my subjective impression only. Please note, however, that I’m not mobility impaired so you may wish to contact the restaurant directly to check whether it meets your own requirements.

There is a low step up into the building and a doorway that’s quite narrow. There’s another, similar doorway, leading into the eating area. There is limited space between tables so it may be difficult to manoeuvre wheelchairs or other mobility aids. There are no disabled toilet facilities.

If you’ve visited this restaurant and have info helpful to diners with disabilities, please leave a comment below.