Doma Wang made Kolkata fall in love with Tibetan food
“There is so much to do and so little time”
When chef Doma Wang started delivering homemade momos on her Kinetic Honda in Kolkata’s Salt Lake area in 1991, she wasn’t thinking about accolades or titles. She simply needed to put food on the table. Fast forward to today, and Wang is celebrated as the Momo Queen of India, a title bestowed on her by diners, the media, and food lovers across the country. But beneath this crown lies a story of grit, resilience, and sheer hard work.
For those who’ve tasted them, Wang’s momos are the stuff of legend—a burst of juicy, flavourful comfort wrapped in the most delicate dough. Kolkata, a city famous for its street food, offers everything from rolls stuffed with spicy egg and mutton to phuchkas that explode in your mouth with peppery tanginess. But Wang carved a space of her own in this competitive scene, elevating momos from a casual snack to a culinary masterpiece. It may not have been her intention but she brought people the kind of food that could comfort and connect them. “Blue Poppy’s [Chef Wang’s restaurant] thukpa is my soul food, and the momo sauce fires me up every other day at the office!” says Malavika R Banerjee, a repeat customer on a post about Wang’s food by food critic and connoisseur Vir Sanghvi.
Her story begins not in the glittering kitchens of fine dining but as a young mother in a pinch. “For me, it was about survival,” she says. A single mother, Wang found herself without financial support and with limited resources at home. “I had no help, nanny, or money to spare. I needed to stay home but also make money for the household.”
Drawing inspiration from her father, lovingly called Popo, who was both an enthusiastic cook and her first culinary teacher, Wang found her solution in food. Her father’s philosophy, “If you love to eat it, learn to cook it,” shaped her early experiments in the kitchen. Armed with a handful of recipes, a telephone to take orders, and a lot of determination, Wang began making momos and thukpa, and delivering them herself. She put up flyers around her neighbourhood, a grassroots marketing campaign that set the foundation for what would become a remarkable culinary journey.
From necessity to success
Her first big break came when the tourism minister of Sikkim invited her to the Sikkim House canteen in Kolkata. She dove in headfirst. “I started without really knowing what I was getting into. I was so focused on cooking and feeding people. I didn’t know anything about finances, all the different taxes and savings; I didn’t know I’d get handed a big fat tax bill. That’s when I realised how clueless I was,” she laughs.
Today, Doma Wang is credited as one of the pioneers in mainstreaming Himalayan cuisine in India, especially in Kolkata. While the cuisine is often relegated to ‘cheap street food’ status, Doma di, as she’s locally known, has worked hard to shift that narrative with her restaurants and pop-ups around the country. Her flagship restaurant, The Blue Poppy Thakali established in 2005, is a Kolkata institution, celebrated not just by loyal patrons but also by culinary critics. Sanghvi called it, “The best standalone-restaurant food in Kolkata.”
A family affair
Wang’s love for food has always been intertwined with family. She credits her father not only for imparting a love for cooking but also for instilling in her a deep love of feeding others. “My father’s love language was food,” she says. “When I was six, I would help him wrap momos, though he’d often toss mine aside because they weren’t good enough. I remember telling him, ‘One day, I’ll make the best momos in the world.’” Decades later, she believes she’s fulfilled that promise and knows he’d be proud.
This legacy now extends to her daughters. Her eldest, Sachiko, spearheads Popo’s, a fine-dining restaurant where they pay homage to Wang’s father and the recipes he passed down. As Wang learned from her father, she says her daughter jokes about being trained at the Doma Wang School of culinary arts. The restaurant’s menu reimagines family favourite recipes with a slight twist to make it more visually appealing to a fine-dining crowd, like adding a panko crust to the aubergine chunks in a homestyle recipe that mixes it into a minced meat sauce.
“Sachiko has taken dishes I never thought would make it onto a fine-dining menu and turned them into nostalgic beauties.”
The heart of the kitchen
Wang’s greatest pride lies in the relationships she has built through her work. She’s as much a storyteller as she is a chef, weaving memories and traditions into every dish she serves. “Food is about connection,” she says.
Her interaction with customers is an extension of this philosophy. Wang is known for personally greeting diners, often striking up conversations that turn strangers into lifelong friends. She’s met and fed people from all walks of life, from consul generals to school students. “I’ve learned so much from them. Some relationships have lasted over 30 years.”
The menu must-haves
For the uninitiated, Wang recommends starting with the classics. At Blue Poppy, she swears by the steamed mutton momos and the chilli pork which has earned a cult following, including among top chefs like Gaggan Anand. At Popo’s, the must-try dish is the prawn toast, a decadent take on the snack that features a very thick layer of prawns over a thin, crisp toast, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Among her personal favourites is tingmo, the Tibetan steamed bun she describes as “pure cotton.” These handmade, pillow-soft buns made of flour, yeast, salt, and water are a labour of love and a testament to the craftsmanship that goes into every dish her restaurants serve.
The road ahead
At 58, Wang remains as driven as ever. “There is so much to do and so little time,” she says with a laugh. With a cookbook in the works and plans to revive her YouTube channel, she’s constantly looking for ways to share her love of food. “There’s no pressure, only passion.”
Reflecting on her journey, Wang remains grounded. “I’ve been blessed,” she says. “Things have a way of falling into place, and I think my dad has had a hand in that. After all the trouble I went through, I think he went up there and told God, ‘OK, now help her out.’”
From delivering momos on a scooter to creating a culinary legacy that spans generations, Doma Wang’s story is one of self-belief, perseverance, and the magic of a well-made momo.
All images are courtesy of Doma Wang.
