Little Tibet in Big Toronto

Having grown up under my Chinese grandmother's watchful eye as daughter no.1 of her 7th son, I was exposed to Buddhism at an early age. But our household was a bit more complex in reality. My mother, a Roman Catholic, had made sure that I was baptized into the Church and educated in a Catholic school. So for most of my life, I lived this duality - Roman Catholic by day, Buddhist by night. (Let's not forget my fascination with Islam, too, as I went to University, and my subsequent marriage to a man whose family follows a religion based on the Jewish faith - but that's another story for another time).

Tibet has been on my mind lately. It may be because I miss my 99-year-old grandmother who had shown me the beautiful ways of Buddhism that is so prevalent in this corner of the world. Moreover, when we were living in the Philippines, we would visit colourful temples, light incense, chant, meditate, and seek counsel from a priest together. In fact, I have a cousin who is a monk. But more importantly, it was a monk-priest who gave me my Chinese name. Shr Chou Yun. Autumn Clouds. He ascertained that the symbol for fire is represented in my name, so that I may live my life with fiery passion.

For this reason, Tibet is calling. I'm yearning to visit a part of this land known as "The Rooftop of the World". To go back to my Buddhist roots and do my grandmother proud. To be inspired in life once again. Just look at these stunning photos from Jan Reurink. If they fail to encourage you, I don't know what else could.





And so, I dragged my goofy friend (and brother-in-law) to a Tibetan restaurant in Toronto. Little Tibet - just one of many Tibetan restaurants on the Queen West drag - has a pretty good menu, but can it deliver?

We chose tentuk, a soup with square noodles, thinly sliced beef, and garnished with fresh spinach and cilantro leaves. Traditionally, this soup is made with yak meat, but as yak meat is not common in Canada, beef is a suitable replacement. I also expected the broth to burst into a spicy-sweet-sour-and-salty taste a la tom yung goong, but it was actually pretty tame and clear-tasting, almost flat.

Momos are Tibet's most popular dish. They are dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetable fillings, and can come steamed (as immediately below) or pan-fried (far below). Both dishes are served with a refreshing crushed-tomato-and-cilantro salsa and shogo khatsa, which is an Indian-style yellow curry potato salad.

Other specialties at Little Tibet restaurant are: sham-dae (Tibetan lamb curry), teme-dhangtse (chickpea salad with spiced natural yogurt dressing), tenchung (herbed red lentil soup), bo thuk ngopa (traditional noodles with light ginger and garlic sauce).

Did it deliver? Of course there's no substitute for an authentic food experienced in the country itself. However, we got a transcendent slice of Tibet in Toronto, even if for a fleeting, karmic moment. As Lonely Planet reported, "Tibetan food is more about survival than pleasure."

Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood is home to 2,000 Tibetans. At my husband's former high school, Parkdale Collegiate, 200 of the 600 current students have Tibetan parents. Canada has a refugee support program praised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). To learn about Canada's refugee policies, click here.

Little Tibet Restaurant
712 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1E8
Tel. No. (416) 306-1896