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Eat your weight in Himalayan dumplings at the 2015 Momo Crawl in Jackson Heights

The fourth annual Momo Crawl will take place on Nov. 14 in Jackson Heights.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Orlick

Jackson Heights is home to an eclectic mix of restaurants and one event will showcase the neighborhood’s Himalayan cuisine through the momo — a steamed or fried bun stuffed with a variety of fillings.

Jeff Orlick started the first Momo Crawl in 2012 where 30 of his friends and family perused Jackson Heights restaurants to get a taste of this traditional delicacy. Last year, the crawl attracted 800 people and each participant voted for their favorite restaurant — Lhasa Fast Food was the winner by one point — which was awarded a momo trophy.

This year, the momo crawl will start at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Diversity Plaza at 37th Road and 73rd Street. Orlick will be selling a momo map that will outline the 24 restaurants participating in the crawl. Momos will be sold for $1 each and all restaurants are within walking distance of the 7 train station.

According to Orlick, Jackson Heights is the “momo capital of the west.” A traditional momo in Tibet is filled with Yak meat and served with a variety of sauces like tomato and sesame sauce seasoned with ground peanut, cilantro and sichuan pepper. Buffalo meat momo’s are popular in Nepal while the Indian version of the steamed bun includes mutton, chicken, pork and paneer, a cheese common in Indian cuisine.

Orlick previously ran the Roosevelt Avenue Midnight Street Food Crawl and Taste of the World Tours. He is currently the beverage director for Little Tibet, a Tibetan restaurant in Jackson Heights that has previously participated in the crawl.

Voting for the momo trophy will take place at 5 p.m. and the event will also feature music from DJ Rokesh and free momo tattoos from Mohan’s Tattoo Inn. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page here.

Participating restaurants include:

  • Woodside Café
  • Dhaulagiri Kitchen (Tawa)
  • Himalayan Yak
  • Cholsum
  • Little Tibet
  • Patola Fresh Momos truck
  • Cafe K2 AKA Bombay Chat
  • Namaste AKA Merit Farms
  • Lhasa Fast Food AKA Tibetan Mobile
  • Mustang Thikali
  • A&G Momos Cart
  • Lali Guras
  • Friends Corner Café
  • Chautari
  • Hamro Bhims
  • Amdo Kitchen Truck
  • Ittadi
  • Delhi Heights/Taste of Himalayas
  • Namaste Delhi Heights
  • Wasabi Point
  • Nepali Bhancha Ghar
  • bhutanese ema dhatse