JACKSON HEIGHTS —A Tibetan chef with a popular restaurant in India has expanded with a cozy new space on Roosevelt Avenue.
Nfn Woedhuk, 35, opened his second Cholsum Tibetan Restaurant in October on Roosevelt Avenue, between 72nd and 73rd streets, inside the former Gangjong Kitchen.
He trained as a chef in Tibet and opened his first restaurant, also named Cholsum, in Dharamsala, India before moving to the United States five years ago.
Once he arrived he worked as a sushi chef upstate — but wanted to eventually return to Queens, where he first lived when he moved to the United States.
"It's business," he said of his restaurant. "It's a way to make money."
He took over the former Gangjong Kitchen in September, where Chef Tenzin Tsering cooked up specialties from the Himalayas using only electric stoves in its tiny kitchen. He's since expanded to a restaurant in Sunnyside.
Woedhuk, too, cooks in the limited kitchen, steaming most things and using creativity to cook the others.
His specialty is noodle dishes, he said, like the Cholsum special pasta that features fried beef, and a tomato, onion and butter sauce.
He also sells beef and chive momos, which are popular in Tibet but hard to find in Jackson Heights.
Another standout, he said, is his beef soup, which he cooks for hours on the bone.
"It's hearty for winter," he said.
Cholsum Tibetan Restaurant, 72-24 Roosevelt Ave., is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.
