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Phayul is a Tibetan restaurant in Jackson Heights, and it’s the sort of spot where you can eat a memorable meal with little to no advance planning. The food is exceptional, everything costs less than $10, and there are so many different options that you could eat here every night for several months in a row and not get even a little bit bored.
The long menu here has everything from blood sausage and a Tibetan cheese soup (both of which you should order) to roughly 20 different “side dishes” that are more or less entrees. There are also a few different types of momos, and they’re even better than the ones you’ll find across the street at Lhasa Fast Food (which are already very good to begin with). Order the beef ones fried or steamed, then set aside a reasonable amount of time to appreciate how juicy and flavorful they are. An ideal meal at Phayul will also involve some kind of soup. The thenthuk, with its big chewy noodles, will always be a good option - but our favorite is the tsak sha la kor, which comes with a mound of beef and sliced radish, hidden like an iceberg in a broth that’s light, creamy, and filled with szechuan peppercorns.
As for the space, it’s just one small room on the second story of a building, with a kitchen to one side and a handful of tables to the other. There’s a constant stream of people coming in and out, and you might encounter a wait when you stop by for dinner - but the kitchen moves pretty quickly, and even if you have to stare at the ceiling or make small talk with your children for 15 minutes or so, it will be worth it.
Two dishes at Phayul will fill you up, and with around 50 items on the menu, that leaves you approximately 1,225 different ways to have dinner here. So if you live nearby, make this one of your go-to spots for a weeknight meal. And if you aren’t in the area, make a trip out one weekend afternoon. After your first visit, you’ll probably start planning your next 1,224.