🥟 Dumpling Championship for a Dollar: Queens Finally Found the Right Sport

In New York, where coffee can easily cost seven dollars and rent sometimes looks like a punishment for good behavior, a gastronomic miracle happened on 13 September.

Jackson Heights hosted the annual Momo Crawl — a festival where more than 30 Tibetan and Nepalese establishments sold momo for just $1.

That is, for one day New York officially became a place where a dollar means something again.

🥟 The sport: walk and eat

The rules are very simple.

You walk into one establishment.

You eat a momo.

Then you go to the next one.

You eat another.

Then another.

And all of this is called not "gluttony" but a gastronomic route.

Very convenient.

The momo came in every variety: steamed, fried, tandoori, with chicken, beef, vegetables, cheese, and sauces so spicy that a person starts recalling all their life decisions.

The main thing is to keep a straight face.

Because you are not simply eating.

You are evaluating.

🌶️ A people's jury with a full mouth

The festival's visitors acted as genuine judges.

They had to compare the dough, the filling, the spices and the sauces.

That is, a person could calmly say:

— This momo is interesting, but the previous one was deeper.

And no one laughed.

Because everyone around was doing the same thing.

At some point the streets of Jackson Heights turned into a giant gastronomic council:

— The dough is better here.
— No, the sauce is stronger there.
— And have you tried the one on the corner?
— Three times already.

👑 The main prize — a champion's belt

And this is where the most wonderful part begins.

The winner does not receive an ordinary certificate.

Not a medal.

Not a boring cup.

But a real Momo Championship Belt.

A massive champion's belt.

That is, somewhere a boxer trains for years, takes hits, cuts weight before the weigh-in and steps into the ring.

And here the path to the belt looks like this:

dough — filling — sauce — victory.

Finally, a sport that many of us have been preparing for our whole lives and didn't even know it.

Imagine the interview after the victory:

— What was the hardest part?

— The twenty-seventh momo.

— Who is your main rival?

— My own stomach.

— What's next?

— Rest and, possibly, tea.

✨ New York once again figured everything out the right way

That is the whole charm of Momo Crawl.

You eat delicious food, support small family-run establishments, stroll around the neighborhood, vote for your favorite spot and take part in an event where the main piece of sports equipment is — a plate.

And most importantly:

you don't need a gym membership to take part.

All you need is comfortable shoes, a free day and a very optimistic view of your own stomach's capacity.

Finally, a championship after which you want to say not:

“How do they do it?”

but:

“Where do I sign up?” 😄