The annual Momo Crawl for Himalayan dumplings in Jackson Heights is back for its sixth year with two wooden, vintage-style trolleys and a yak-hide belt for the winning restaurant.
A record 27 Tibetan, Nepalese and South Asian eateries in the Queens neighborhood will be showcasing the dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables, which can be served either steamed or fried, this Sunday.
That lineup includes Lhasa Fast Food, a stop on Anthony Bourdain’s trip through Queens in season nine of “Parts Unknown,” and Momo Delight, a food truck that won the best rookie category at the 2017 Vendy Awards.
To partake, you’ll have to purchase a $10 “passport” to buy $1 momos at each restaurant and vote for your favorite. (As of Thursday afternoon, the event had sold 200, co-organizer Jeff Orlick told amNewYork.)
Participants can walk around on foot, or take one of two bus trolleys with wooden bench seats and brass hand-rail bars to their farthest destinations in Woodside and Elmhurst.
Beyond tasty bites of dough, beef and chives, the crawl will offer entertainment in the form of music and dance performances by Tibetan and Nepalese artists.
After wayfarers have cast all their votes, organizers will bestow a new “Momo Championship Belt” made of yak hide to the winning restaurant.
Orlick said he ordered the hide from Colorado and hired a local craftswoman to fashion the trophy that resembles a wrestling belt.
Scroll down to see the belt as a work in progress
All proceeds for the event are going to Students for a Free Tibet, an international nonprofit campaigning for Tibetan independence.
The crawl will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5, kicking off at Diversity Plaza, at 73-19 37th Rd.
