Namdon is the owner of the beautiful Tibet Family Kitchen in Lhasa. More than a restaurant offering mouth-watering Tibetan food, the cooking classes offered here are a cultural experience every traveler must include on their trip to this ancient city. Though her one room kitchen operation has grown into a two-story restaurant with a roof-top patio near the old town, her friendliness and hospitality still ensures every guest experiences the warmth of a “family kitchen”. Extravagant Yak is proud to know her and feature her business on Tibetpedia.com. This is her story.
My name is Namdon. I was born in Shigatse, a small village of Renbu County, central Tibet. I had a hard childhood compared to many other kids in my village because both of my parents worked away from our hometown. As a child, I spent most my time with my grandma. I looked after our family’s cows in the morning and went to school in the afternoon. My family’s economic condition didn’t allow me to continue my education journey after primary school. Later on, I moved to Lhasa and stayed with my cousin who helped me with my studies and sent me to a private language school. I picked up English and with this skill, became a guide at my cousin’s travel agency until 2013. I loved the guiding job and it was also during that time I met my husband Lumbum. We married in 2009 and our first daughter was born in 2011. Our parents helped us look after her while we continued guiding, but it was hard for me to be away from her so, I decided to give up my job and take care of her myself. I enjoyed being a full-time mother, but it was challenging for our family to rely solely on my husband’s income.
With my cousin’s brainstorming and encouragement, I opened a small restaurant on the floor above her office to provide staff meals for her employees. I loved this business as I am passionate about cooking. This is how the “Tibetan Family Kitchen” was born. At the beginning, I cooked, and my husband delivered the food. I love how our family worked as a team. We worked to make income, yet most importantly our family did not need to be apart anymore. After some time went by, travel agencies added our cooking classes to their activities and they became popular on Trip Advisor. I was honored to receive many international friends at my restaurant and share Tibetan food with them. In 2015, we had one more new family member, our younger daughter Tenzin Wangmu was born. She has grown up at our restaurant and when she was small, often my guests helped me feed her when she cried. One of my guests wrote some humorous feedback, “the food is amazing, but you need to prepare to be a nanny!”
I enjoy introducing Tibetan food to international friends in Lhasa. A special time each afternoon is after 4:30pm when I take my guests to the Lhasa Old Market to purchase food and show them local people’s daily life. After school, my kids spend most of their time at my restaurant doing their homework and sometimes helping me order food or clean the restaurant. I am so lucky and blessed to be with them. Every international children’s day we close the restaurant and celebrate with them. We take them to visit monasteries and go hiking. When it’s low season for our business, we take family trips to different places in Tibet. I want my kids to grow up with happiness, health and peace. I love being a mom and I love my work. Having my family a part of my job each day is a gift. The best love I can give my children is to be with them as they grow up.
The COVID 19 virus has affected my business and unfortunately also so many others in the world. I hope the virus will be gone soon and people can get back to their normal life. I also hope people treasure their loved ones and maintain health and peace at this difficult time.
Being a mother helped me understand and love my mother more and be more compassionate towards others. I hope I can be a role model for my daughters. Enjoy the amazing journey of being a mother. On this Mother’s Day, I wish all mothers the best! Happy Mother’s Day!