Why Chef Doma Wang Refuses To Let Momos Be Ruined By Trends

In a world obsessed with reinvention, Chef Doma Wang stands for something rarer - the power of getting it right in the first place.

Published On Feb 05, 2025 | Updated On Feb 05, 2025

Image

Doma Wang doesn't suffer bad momos. Momo Queen of India - a title she wears with the kind of quiet confidence that comes from knowing you make the best version of something, Wang has built an empire on the back of her refusal to compromise. She has watched, with mounting horror, as momos have been manhandled into strange, neon-lit fusions, drowned in unholy sauces, and repackaged as something unrecognizable. 

Rooted in her father's wisdom - "If you like to eat it, learn to cook it", her journey from a home-based food delivery venture to helming Blue Poppy restaurants, has been about offering Tibetan food as it is meant to be: deeply comforting, minus the drama. Simply put, if it was good enough for her father's table, it's good enough for hers. That's not to say, she's some rigid traditionalist, stuck in a culinary time warp. She does understand the need for evolution as her daughter Sachiko Seth brings fresh techniques to the kitchen. Wang is just wary of the mindless tinkering that often comes at the cost of authenticity. What she cooks is not just food, it's a battle against culinary dilution. And if you think, Tibetan food begins and ends with thukpa and momo, she will politely (but firmly) set you straight. 

My food mantra is if you like to eat it, learn to cook it. This was something my father always told me and these words are what made me what I am today.

The most misunderstood aspect of Tibetan food is that it’s just limited to momo and thukpa, we at Blue Poppy Thakali have introduced many other Tibetan dishes and serve them in its original avatar. Being a Tibetan, it makes me upset when I see Momo being sold in all forms served in strange sauces and it’s very important for me to save my culture through its food and hence we are doing it the best we can.

Am now called the ‘Momo Queen of India’ and I accept it with humility. Having said that I have tried momos in a lot of places and still haven’t had any that matches up to mine. I am a Tibetan and have grown up eating Tibetan food. These are comfort food for me and it's but natural I love it. When my first child Sachiko was born and I had no option but to stay home and raise her, the only thing I could think of to bring food on the table while being home with Sachiko was starting a food delivery business. The business did start as a means to bring food to the table and later this became a passion. A passion to make Tibetan food famous as it is supposed to be. Although experimenting and innovation is important, I do want people to know what an actual momo should be versus the experimented ones.

Red meat, preferably mince meat. Love doing different things with it. Mince meat is so versatile and can be made into many different things.

Although the prawn toast is my favourite at Popos, the dish that is closest to my heart is the Aubergine in minced meat sauce. This is a dish my father cooked for us and I cooked it for my children, never ever thought it as worthy enough to put on the menu of our restaurant. But Sachiko has put her twist to it and serving it with so much pride at Popos. Popo must he so proud of Sachiko!

I have taken it upon myself to preserve my culture through its food. It worries me that ours is a dwindling population and with the terrible trend of presenting anything wrapped in a dough as a momo. The original flavours of my land will soon disappear. Luckily for me, Sachiko is a young chef and has ideas and uses techniques to keep up with the new trends while I work on keeping alive the original flavours of Tibetan food. So together we are trying to balance everything and serve up delicious meals.

My father’s love language was food, hence my life revolved around food. I learnt very early in life the joys of eating good food. A bad meal for me was like a bad day. I worked on my cooking skills to make a living and bring up my children, being in the hospitality business meant no social life, in fact it meant no life outside of the restaurant. Now luckily the children have grown up and I can now concentrate on my YouTube channel and share with the world, my culture and its food. Very few know of Tibetan food beyond momos and thukpa and that’s what I plan to change.

When am not working, I like to spend time with my granddaughter Boma, watch a few series on Netflix and cook food for my friends and family. I also like to read and listen to music. Staying home is a luxury now and nothing makes me happier than just being by myself and rediscovering things about my past and working on bettering myself and my life.

Tibetan food is all about simple and robust flavours. I do not believe in dousing my food with spices, for me it’s always been about making the ingredients the hero of my dish. Surprisingly our Indian diners love the food we serve, at my recent pop-ups in Bengaluru and Pune I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the diners appreciate my food and tell me that it was heartwarming and soul food.

The food trend I would hate to see this year is the rise of third culture cuisine.


Photo: Doma Wang