New York City is home to exciting microcosms of culture. There’s a Little Guyana in Richmond Hills (Queens), a Little Ireland in Woodlawn (The Bronx), and a Little Pakistan in Coney Island (Brooklyn)… just to name a few.

Each little pocket is home to a dense population of the respective culture, and exploring them is like being transported far far away from New York City. You’ll hear different languages, see different types of grocery stores, stumble upon unique items for sale, and, my favorite part, have the opportunity to eat incredible food.

Nestled in Jackson Heights, Queens, there is a Little Himalayas that’s home to people from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and some parts of northern India. I’ve never been to that part of the world (although it’s on the bucket list), nor do I know much about it.

My favorite way to get to know a culture is through my stomach, so I embarked on a Jackson Heights momo crawl to get a taste of the region.

First Things First: What’s a Momo?

A momo a small dumpling with a filling that you’ll find in Tibet and Nepal. They are usually made with aida and atta flour and are traditionally eaten as street food. Momos are quite similar to dim sum, but they feature the flavors and spices of the Himalayas. (Perhaps a momo vs dim sum post is to come….)

So Let’s Dive In!

Stop One: Bhanchha Ghar

Bhanchha Ghar has been serving up traditional Nepali cuisine since 2015. It’s the two time winner of the annual Jackson Heights momo crawl, so it seemed like the appropriate first stop for our Jackson Heights momo crawl. I opened the menu and was completely clueless as to what most of the items were. Samay baji? Thali? Bara?  I couldn’t let myself get distracted. The mission was momos!

I flipped to the momo page, just to see at least a dozen different momo options alone. After some panicked googling, we settled on the jhol goat momo.

“Jhol” means liquid, and jhol momos are basically like a momo soup. Perfect for the unusally cool September day.

Ten minutes later, a vibrant, steaming bowl was placed in front of us. Warm aromas of spice spilled into the air, and I delicately took the first bite.

OH MY GOD.

The goat filling was beautifully gamy and slightly sweet with just enough onion and plenty of spices. The broth had deep, complex layers of spices with turmeric, ginger, garlic, onions, and flavors my palate has never experienced before. The gaminess from the goat complimented the rich, spiciness of the soup, making this one of the best dishes I’ve eaten in New York.

Cost: $10

Stop Two: Phayul

Phayul serves up traditional Tibetan food like Laphing, Lhasa Noodles, and, of course, momos. After much debate, we settled on the vegetable momo, which had a potato filling of sorts. We were expecting something similar to aloo gobi, but it ended up being more like a pierogi.

The momos had thick-ish dough with a thick-ish potato filling that was unfortunately bland. The chili oil and chili sauce saved the day. In hindsight, we ordered wrong. (Even though I don’t think any restaurant should have a menu that you can “order wrong” from….)

Cost: $8

Stop Three: Momo Crave

The third and final stop of our momo crawl was Momo Crave–  the #trendiest spot on the crawl that felt like it could be in the Lower East Side. The menu features momos with a twist, like taco momos and chaat momos. We settled on the tandoori momo and chili momo, and in hindsight, we should have just stuck with the classics. A lesson I will one day implement.

The chili momo tasted eerily similar to kung pao chicken with that oh so familiar flavor combination of chili, onion, tomato and garlic. The tandoori momo didn’t quite taste like tandoori. It was perfectly fine to eat, but nothing memorable.

Both types of momos were fried, and the texture reminded me of the external layer of a chicken nugget.

While Momo Crave has gotten some solid press and social media attention, I can’t say I was impressed.

Cost: Around $10 each.

Wrapping Up This Jackson Heights Momo Crawl

Bhanchha Ghar is the undeniable winner, Momo Craves gets silver, and Phayul gets a bronze.

I smell another Jackson Heights foodie adventure in the near future…stay tuned to see what’s next!

Hungry for more NY food crawls? Check out my Chinatown food crawl , Chelsea Market taco crawl, and Lower East Side fried chicken sandwich crawl!