TAKE A TRIP TO TIBET

And you don’t even need to leave town, thanks to our new Hometown Tourist series,

Officially it’s Parkdale, but momo lovers know Queen St. west of Dufferin St. as Little Tibet.

The neighbourhood’s highrises are home to many of the 5,000-plus Tibetan Canadians who call Greater Toronto home. The community has been growing since the first refugees settled here in the 1970s and their restaurants and shops have long been popular.

Little Tibet’s biggest draw is momos (dumplings), a fact that Students for a Free Tibet Canada plans to harness for its July 26 momo crawl. Buy a $20 passport, sample 10 momos at eight restaurants and vote for your favourite.

“Food, we think, is a really smooth way to transition people into the political aspects of the movement right now,” says Sonam Chokey, 23, a member of the organization and a youth outreach intern at the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre.

China invaded Tibet in 1949 and soon annexed the region. The Dalai Lama has led a Tibetan governmentin-exile in Dharamsala, India, since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

The spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhists seeks autonomy for his people within China. Students for a Free Tibet want a free nation and are fighting human rights abuses.

Back in Parkdale, there’s a gentler movement afoot to get at least part of the area officially renamed Little Tibet.

Food

Stroll six blocks of Queen St. W., from just west of Sorauren Ave. to just east of Lansdowne Ave., and you’ll find eight Tibetan restaurants. Depending on where the owners are from, there might be Indian, Nepali or Chinese influences. Momos — Tibet’s beloved crescent-shaped or round dumplings — are on every menu.

I like my momos steamed and filled with ground beef. You can get them pan-fried and filled with chicken, pork and vegetables if you prefer. Nibble the corners and slurp the juices so they don’t squirt everywhere, then spoon homemade hot sauce inside.

The very informal Loga’s Corner, steps south of Queen St., has a tiny menu, takeout counter and homey café two doors apart.

At Lhasa Kitchen, which just opened in April, ask for bone broth alongside your momos. I saw two Tibetan men share tingmo (steamed buns) and a plate of greens and have become obsessed with ordering this off-menu combo.

Since traditional Tibetan butter tea is a salty and acquired taste, there’s no shame in chai with its milky sweetness and cardamom-ginger accents.

Culture

The Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre opened in Etobicoke in 2007 and is a work in progress. Multicoloured prayer flags flutter in the trees out front.

Two enormous prayer wheels are set back from the street and must always be turned clockwise. Inside there’s a library and hall with language and performing arts lessons, Buddhist philosophy classes, yoga and more.

The centre welcomes visitors Wednesday to Sunday. You might stumble upon seniors reciting mantras, an art exhibition or volunteers preparing a simple vegetarian lunch in the new kitchen. The older women wear chupas (traditional dresses) and pangden (aprons) that signify they’re married.

Atwo-week celebration of the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday wraps up Saturday with a full day of events. The Dalai Lama’s sister, Jetsun Pema, visits July 18 for a gala dinner.

Shopping

Kalsang Dolkar Gyaltong’s lovely Tibet Shoppe on Queen St. W. relocated to the Danforth last year. While the Tibetan restaurant scene is centralized in Parkdale, you’ll find the half dozen or so shops spread out across the city centre.

Tibetan dresses, incense, and hand cymbals (tingsha) and singing bowls used for meditation are popular, but most stores stock jewelry, music, rugs, antiques and wall hangings. Gyaltong, who is also event co-ordinator at the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, has owned the Tibet Shoppe for 22 years.

“My passion keeps it alive,” she says with pride.

Religion

Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple in the Junction welcomes the public multiple times each week at any scheduled meditation.

It is the first authentic recreation of a Tibetan temple in Canada and there you can admire an extensive collection of statues, two thrones, prayer flags, thangkas (embroidered brocades and paintings), a library, small shop and sacred shrine room.

There are even handouts for a selfguided tour and “shrine room customers and courtesy.” Offerings of flowers are welcome, as are sponsors for the temple cat Pema’s food and medical bills. jbain@thestar.ca

“Food, we think, is a really smooth way to transition people into the political aspects of the movement right now.”

SONAM CHOKEY

STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET

MELISSA RENWICK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Michael Kurtis-Pomeroy, right, tries a Tibetan gong with Andrea Russell at the Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist Temple, as his parents, Rebecca Kurtis-Pomeroy and Dean Kurtis-Pomeroy watch.

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR Kalsang Dolkar Gyaltong makes an offering of incense at the altar in her store, the Tibet Shoppe, now on the Danforth.

MELISSA RENWICK/TORONTO STAR Khenpo Sonam Tobgyal Rinpoche is the resident Lama at the Riwoche Temple.

At Lhasa Kitchen, steamed beef momos come with a fiery dipping sauce.

COLE BURSTON/TORONTO STAR Cidan Yangzong and her husband Cidan Langjie own Lhasa Kitchen, the newest Tibetan restaurant on Queen St. W. in Parkdale.

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR Kalsang Dolkar Gyaltong owns the well-stocked Tibet Shoppe.

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR Outside the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre, you’ll find two enormous prayer wheels. Here, a Tibetan man walks to turn a wheel clockwise.

CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR Tibetan singing bowls are used for meditation.

ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE/TORONTO STAR Inside the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre in Etobicoke.