Tibetan Momos at Loga’s Corner in Toronto

Loga’s Corner in Toronto is at the Western edge of our Little Tibet Momo Crawl. We find them on a side street (Close Avenue) just off Queen Street West in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto.

The Momo Crawl T.O. team has set up a small tented lounge area with balloons outside the restaurant. Next to the tent is a long table, with covered metal trays of Loga’s Corner’s pork, beef, chicken and vegetable momos. Just off to the right of the entrance to Loga’s Corner is a photo booth area with momo signs that say, “Gotta Eat ‘Em All,” and “Can’t Nobody Have My Momos.”

What Are Momos?

“What are momos?” you ask. Typically it’s a steamed dumpling with a filling. In Toronto’s Little Tibet neighbourhood, these fillings are often beef, pork, chicken, or vegetables. The shapes appear to vary by producer, and sometimes by type of filling, perhaps in a round shape with a volcano-like hole in the top, sometimes they look like a smaller bao bun with a conical top, and frequently they are crescent-shaped. There’s an Indian spice influence to the seasoning, particularly in the accompanying sauces.

Trying the Momos at Loga’s Corner in Toronto

Four of us hold out our green Momo Crawl T.O. passports at the long table and ask the volunteer to mark off one momo redemption.

A man from inside, Loga, carries out more trays of momos to fulfill demand from the ongoing line. He tells me later that cold momos are no good. They must be hot.

Loga’s Corner is named after him. Loga tells me his mother named him that because it means “hard” and “love” in Tibetan.

We all try the pork. It’s different from the beef momos we ate at the other places. This is a reasonably large momo, juicy and has good balanced flavour without being bland. Anita notes that this momo is flat on the bottom and “stands up like a chimney.”

This is the only place on the Momo Crawl which offers up pickled vegetables with spices, and we try them (good, refreshing). Loga says it’s fermented Daikon radish, with black and red pepper, mashed ginger and garlic and another spice (he wasn’t sure of the spice’s name in English).

After our group does some cooling off in the shade of the lounge, we pose for group photos.

One momo is not enough, so we decide to try Loga’s Corner’s beef momo. The beef momo is crescent shaped, and is my favourite of the two. Meaty, without being too dense, juicy as I’d hoped, and more flavour than the pork.

The response from all four of us is “juicy.”

Like other momo establishments, Loga’s Corner has their own hot sauce. The women serving momos give me a warning that it is hot, so I only try a small amount. The sauce adds a delicious flavour boost to the momo and not just heat. The sauce is hot, though. Too much hot sauce and I wouldn’t have been able to eat it.

I pick up their business card to make sure I have their address and phone number. I notice the card proudly declares Loga’s Corner as the “Best Dumpling in Town.”

Taking Momos Home from Loga’s Corner in Toronto

Late in the afternoon, my friend Rhonda and I return to Loga’s Corner to get momos for dinner. I realize the restaurant is a take-out counter. There is a room just beyond holding tables and chairs for dining.

We review the chalkboard menu. Rhonda, who’s a local and has been here many times before, recommends the Butter Tea.

When Loga, behind the counter, hears this he says, “no, it’s too hot for Butter Tea.” It was a very warm summer day.

I say thank you, I’ll wait to try the Butter Tea for when the weather gets colder. He smiles.

Rhonda orders the steamed beef momos, although sometimes, she says, she gets the fried ones, which are good, too.

I ordered the “Best Dumpling In Town’s” steamed Beef Momos to take home for “research.” Primarily for Joe to try, since he hadn’t gone on this excursion. I had hopes of snagging a few for myself if he didn’t finish them.

The momos are so well-packed, they are still warm when I get home an hour later. They have wrapped the momos in foil, tucked inside a Styrofoam container. They double-packed the small hot sauce container so the container couldn’t leak. While not Eco-friendly, this packaging did manage to keep the food warm and prevent spills.

The Best Way to Eat Momos at Loga’s Corner in Toronto

It’s important to eat momos hot, because one of the great delights of a momo is the juice inside the dumpling. You bite the tip of the momo and suck out the juice before you even take your first bite of the filling. They remind me of Chinese soup dumplings in this way, although momos have less liquid.

I’ve found a new favourite food to add to my growing list.

Loga’s Corner in Toronto is open 11am-11pm daily. While they don’t have a website, I’ve connected to their Facebook page where they sometimes announce holiday closures.

Here are some other places to try in Toronto.

Enjoyed July, 2019.

Loga’s Corner
216C Close Ave. Toronto
+1 647-761-0965