Momo’s Chinese brings fresh, affordable take-out to Basalt 

Award-winning chef Sandy Dee Hall’s dream of owning a restaurant in the Roaring Fork Valley came to life two weeks ago when he opened Momo’s Chinese in Basalt. 

The restaurant’s name and branding were inspired by Hall’s husky, Momo. Looking for a change from city life, the two moved from New York City to the valley nine months ago.

“I came to the valley because I wanted a different life than what I had in New York for myself and Momo,” Hall said. “After driving through the area, I fell in love with it.”

The restaurant scene is nothing new to Hall, who has worked as a chef for many years and been featured by The New York Times and Michelin. In New York, he also ran a non-profit called Sourc[ed], through which he taught children in underrepresented, urban communities about food access. 

Growing up as an orphan, he noted that good food was difficult to attain. Now, affordability and freshness are his top priorities for Momo’s. He is committed to sourcing ingredients locally — most of the restaurant’s meat is from Colorado with many vegetables sourced from local farmers markets over the summer. 

“I saw that there was a huge disparity between the food that was available and its quality and cost,” Hall said. “I want to give people the best quality, seasonal food that I can, and at a price that is affordable.”

He said he was motivated to serve Chinese food because of community demand after Ho Palace, a Chinese restaurant in Basalt, closed in 2021. He was also inspired by a family-owned Chinese restaurant in his apartment building in New York. 

The menu, which he described as simple and from-scratch, includes classic Chinese comfort food, like pork dumplings, lo mein, fried rice and egg rolls. General Tso’s chicken is being added this week, and he expects the menu to continue to evolve.

“We make everything in house, from scratch,” Hall said. “We roll the egg rolls. We make our own mushroom and pork dumplings. The menu is really simple, but the freshness comes through.” 

Looking ahead, he hopes to one day add an Asian market with a selection of imported goods that are not readily available in the valley to the space. He also aspires to experiment with different cuisines like Indian. 

Currently, Momo’s is a take-out-only restaurant. Delivery is also in the works. 

For Momo’s hours and to place an order, visit its website at momos-chinese.com.