Lhasa offers the best catering in Tibet. With the Tibetan cuisine takes the majority and closely followed Sichuan cuisine--which wins a great fame largely relying on its famous hot-pot, food in Lhasa is greatly worth-trying. Due to geographical and climatic reasons, food in Tibet mainly uses red meat, barley and butter as materials as vegetables there are deficient in quantity. Try something local. Such local dishes as air-dried beef or mutton, tsamba, buttered tea, barley liquor (Chang) and dairy products are indispensible on native tables. Taste something unique. A lot of yummy delicacies like ginseng fruit ghee rice, radish stewed yak sparerib, stewed yak tongue with saffron and aweto-stewed snow cockare are always on the top of menus to entertain honorable guests. Join TOC and try something Tibetan!
Yummy Local Snacks
Tsamba
Tsamba serves as a major snack in Tibet and is eaten by the locals every day. It is made of parched flour which comes from dried and fried highland barley. When eating, firstly add some butter in a bowl, and then pour a proper amount of tea water in it before putting the prepared barley flour. The diner needs to stir the mixture with his hands, when the fingers need to knead to help the stuff fully blend with the water. Till the liquor is thick enough, knead the flour into a little dough, and send it directly into your mouth. The spicy stuff can also be salted tea, sour milk and barley wine, and sometimes radish is also added in.
Since tsamba is easy to made and convenient to bring along, it fits well into the Tibetan nomad's life. When the nomads are leaving home, they take a bag of tsamba. Whenever they feel hungry, they just take out some and eat.
Air-dried beef or mutton
This is another Tibetan featured food. At the end of each year, when temperature drops below the freezing point, Tibetans cut beef or mutton into strips and hang it in shaded and ventilate places to be air-dried, sometimes before adding some seasonings in it. Till the next February or March, the meat will be ready to serve. After air drying, the meat tastes crisp and tender, leaving you with a distinctive aftertaste. Also this specialty is favored by the locals because the meat is not easy to rot or go bad. The natives also love to have raw meat, considering the bacteria has died out in the low temperature.
Buttered tea
If you visit a Tibetan family, the hospitable host will offer a white Khatag and then serve you a cup of buttered tea. Only distinguished guests are treated in this way and declinature will be regarded as impoliteness. Buttered tea is a necessity of Tibetan life and it is advised to take it as much as possible in such a place like Tibet, for it is the best tonic in supplementing nutrition, replenishing energy and helping digestion and is effective in curing cold and altitude sickness that might happen in the first days in Tibet.
One way of making the buttered tea is to place the boiled brick tea and the butter (yark oil) into a slim but tall wooden bucket, where the mixture is vigorously stirred by a stick. Another way is to blend the tea and the butter into a leather bag which will be tied up and bitten fiercely with a wooden bar. Both of these two methods are quite kind of labor work. Joyfully, now the hard work could be done by a mechanical churn. Usually, the first sip of the tea is weird and unpleasant, but the second is fragrant and lingering; till the third sip, it is an eternal savor. Thus, please enjoy the tea quietly and leisurely.
Barley wine
Just as the name implies, the barley wine is brewed from highland barley. Low in degree and tasted sour and sweet, it is popular with all men and women, young and old.
The locals drink barley wine in an interesting way. When a cup of barley wine is served, just have a sip and refill it; another sip and refill; after the third sip and the third refill, one should empty the cup. At the end of the meal, the host will propose a toast to each guest, and no refusal is allowed at this moment, otherwise the refuser will be punished to drink two cups of wine instead. Theoretically, the toast utensil must be a large silver bowl, which, however, is usually replaced with exquisite chinaware. Besides, when the host toasts, he usually sings a self-made impromptu song, which greatly enlivens the atmosphere.
Palatable Main Dishes
Main dishes in Lhasa are also highly Tibetan characterized. Aweto-stewed snow cock, mushroom-stewed mutton and ginseng fruit ghee rice are honored as "Three Treasures of Northern Tibet". Aweto-stewed snow cock is a dish made of the precious medicine herb aweto, wild matsutake and Tibetan snow cock, containing a quite high medicine property in regulating blood pressure, combating cancer etc. Ginseng symbolizes longevity in Tibet. It is rich in sugar, protein, amine acid and various Vitamins and can promote fluid production, nourish lung and bring nutrient effects. Ginseng fruit ghee rice is mascot of Tibetan cooking and is served at table at every red-letter day. Mushroom-stewed mutton is another favored dish probably because it can relieve uneasiness of the body, ease the flow of blood and protect against coldness. Besides, radish stewed yak sparerib, auspicious sheep head and aweto stewed mushroom also prevail in restaurants of Lhasa.
Where to Eat
Restaurants of Lhasa-flavored mainly gather on Deji Road (west to the Potala Palace) and Ba’erku Road (north to Middle Beijing Road). If you feel like something western, Beijing Road is a great option.
Recommended restaurants
Snow-Deity Palace Tibetan Style Restaurant
Description: one of the only slap-up Tibetan Style Restaurant
Location: just west to the Square of Potala Palace
Ordering Number: 0891-9003803
Snow Land Restaurant
Description: providing Tibetan, western and Nepalese cuisine
Address: N0. 4, Tibetan Hotel Road
Ordering Number: 0891-6337323
Editor's words:
Tibetans have unique table culture and many special eating habits. It will be a good idea of visiting a local family and take part in a real Tibetan meal. I bet you will have a lot of fun. Anyhow, wish you every pleasure of this yummy food journey!
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