Halal Momos in Calgary: Where to Actually Find Them

I went looking for halal momos in Calgary, and the news is good. Some kitchens now make momos the main event. If "halal momos near me" came up short for you, it's because they hide: as a side at a meat counter, a chilli plate on an Indo-Chinese menu, or under another name (mantu, dumplings). Here's where to find the halal momos Calgary kitchens make, starting with the Nepali specialists.

Nepali halal momos, finally

Burgermesh in Copperpond (4.8 on Google) looks like a smash-burger joint. But the kitchen is Nepali, and steamed and fried momos sit on the menu next to the beef burgers and milkshakes. Burgermesh says its kitchen is now halal. Its website and menus don't say so yet, and no certifier is named, so ask about sourcing if that matters to you. The chicken steam momo is the order. The Kensington branch on 10th Street NW has the same menu and the same halal claim, so ask there too.

Calgary Momo House is the specialist the name promises. It's a family-owned Nepali and Himalayan kitchen with an Indo-Chinese menu, made from scratch. There's one room on 104 Ave NE and another at Crowfoot in the NW.

Fillings include goat, chicken, paneer and vegetables. Momos come steamed, fried, tandoori-style, in soup, or wok-fried in chilli. Try the jhol momo: dumplings in a spiced sesame-and-tomato broth. Mutton is the one regulars rate highest. Mutton chowmein and hakka noodles are on the menu too. Crowfoot also runs an all-you-can-eat, led by the steamed and tandoori momos.

The catch: this is halal options, not a halal kitchen. Tell the staff you want halal and they will steer you. There's no pork on the menu, and alcohol is served. One halal directory lists the Crowfoot room as not halal, so ask there before you order.

Out in Okotoks, Spices on Southridge Drive is an East Indian and Nepalese restaurant. One reviewer calls the dipping sauces with its chicken momos the real highlight. The chicken and lamb are halal there. The beef and goat are not. So order the chicken momos, and say you want halal.

The biryani-house momo

The Biryani Room on 9 Ave SE in Inglewood (4.4) is known for biryani. But the momos are a real second specialty, not an afterthought. The kitchen says it uses halal meat throughout, with no certifying body listed.

In Chestermere, Masala Meats and Takeout (4.5) runs a halal meat counter next to an Indian takeout kitchen. The momos come from the same kitchen that supplies the counter, along with fish pakora and other tandoori sides.

Chilli momos and the Indo-Chinese plate

Calgary also eats momos fried and tossed in sticky chilli sauce, Indo-Chinese style.

• New Spice Darbar on Cityscape Drive NE is a fully halal Punjabi sweet shop with a kitchen behind the mithai counter. Its chilli momos get the heat and texture just right. Grab a box of gulab jamun on the way out.
• Bombay Tiger in Kensington (4.7) has fried momos its fans single out. It's a halal-options kitchen with a full bar, so ask which dishes are halal.
• Green Chili, a small takeout counter on Crowchild Trail near McMahon Stadium, has the best momos in the city by one regular's account. It's also halal options, not a halal kitchen, so ask the server.

Other halal dumplings worth knowing

These kitchens aren't Nepali or Tibetan, but their dumplings are worth a try.

Bahar Kabab on 12 Ave SW is a husband-and-wife kitchen with halal meat throughout and no certifying body listed. Start with the mantu, the momo's Afghan cousin. Mazza, also downtown, serves beef dumplings next to qabuli pulao and chapli kebab, in a nicer sit-down room than most Afghan spots.

Ca-Town BBQ House on Centre Street NW cooks northern Chinese Muslim (Hui) food with halal meat throughout. Its handmade lamb dumplings are a good order. The room is small and busy, so call ahead if you want a particular dish.

Fully halal, or halal options?

• Fully halal kitchens: New Spice Darbar, The Biryani Room and Masala Meats. Order without a second thought. Burgermesh says its kitchen is halal but hasn't put it on its menus yet, so ask about sourcing.
• Halal-options kitchens: Calgary Momo House, Spices, Bombay Tiger and Green Chili. They carry halal meat, but not only halal meat. What you get depends on what you ask for.

None of them has pork on the menu. That's not a given at a Nepali or Tibetan place: pork and buffalo are both traditional momo fillings.

Momo, mantu, dumpling: same idea, four kitchens

Halal kitchens here call them by different names.

• Momo - Nepali and Tibetan, steamed or fried, usually chicken or beef, with a tomato-sesame achar. Jhol momos sit in a thin, spiced version of that sauce. Chilli momos are fried and tossed in an Indo-Chinese glaze.
• Mantu - Afghan, larger and pleated, filled with minced beef and onion. Topped with yoghurt, a lentil or split-pea sauce and dried mint. Order it at an Afghan kitchen, not an Indian one.
• Hui dumplings - Chinese Muslim, lamb or beef, boiled or pan-fried. They sit next to the hand-pulled halal noodles.
• Samosa and pakora - not dumplings, but they keep showing up beside them on the same menus.

Search all four names, not just "momos", and you'll find about three times as much.

The short version

Nepali momos at Burgermesh (halal by its own account, so ask). Jhol momos at Calgary Momo House (ask for halal). Chilli momos at New Spice Darbar, a momo starter at The Biryani Room, mantu at the Afghan kitchens. Steamed first, fried for the road, frozen from the grocers.

Burgermesh, Calgary Momo House, Spices, The Biryani Room, Masala Meats and Takeout, New Spice Darbar, Bombay Tiger, Green Chili, Bahar Kabab, Mazza and Ca-Town BBQ House all have hours, ratings and directions one tap away.