Jackson Heights Welcomes 14th Annual Momo Crawl
(Photo by Gabriel Capellan, WFUV News)
On a sunny Sunday in mid-September, South Asian music filled the streets of Jackson Heights around Diversity Plaza where a large banner hung over a stage. It read: “The 14th Annual Momo Crawl.” People gathered around dancers in the center of the plaza, and jumped into the circle too.
Along the plaza, dozens of food lovers lined up. They were all waiting for one thing: one dollar momos.
Typically fried or steamed, momos are dumplings, a Himalayan delicacy from Nepal, Tibet, and other countries in South Asia. The doughy morsels are filled with beef, chicken, or vegetables and served with two sauces: a white sauce and a red spicy chutney sauce.
Participants at this year’s Momo Crawl received their “momo passports” – a full list of participating restaurants they used to keep track of their favorite contenders, with space to jot down notes about each dumpling. At the end of the event, attendees cast their votes to crown the number-one momo vendor.
It was Dawa Topbhutsang’s second year volunteering at the event. He said he loved to help out with the event and see people enjoy Tibetan culture.
“I'm here for Momo Crawl just to spread awareness to people that don't know about my culture, Tibet. It’s a good chance for people to know about my Tibetan culture and heritage and the love of momos,” said Topbhutsang.
Jeff Orlick, a Queens resident, created the event in 2012. Orlick later passed it on to the non-profit organization, Students for a Free Tibet, who continue to run the crawls.
Sherry Ormand attended the event with her son. Ormand said they wanted to try something new, and had never eaten momos before.
“This is really beautiful. It's all kinds of people out here.The crowd is super mixed,” Ormand said.
As the music wound down and the event came to a close, attendees’ votes were counted. The defending champion, the restaurant Om Wok, was declared as having the best momo for the fourth time in the crawl’s history.
More information is available at Momocrawl on Instagram.
