In Maerkang city you will find a small and cozy local Rgyal Rong restaurant called “ Zang Yuan Qing Tibetan Restaurant ”. It’s simple inside but the food is very tasty and delicious. The basic menu offers the best local Tibetan food with fresh pork, yak meat, and organic vegetables. The local butter tea with fresh walnut is the best butter tea we have ever had (so if you’re going to try it anywhere, here’s the spot!). The menu doesn’t have any English translations, but you will find the most popular foods if you take a quick look at the other customer’s tables. There will be Tibetan noodles with pork and vegetables, momos (Tibetan dumplings) with butter, corn bread, local green vegetables, and of course, the yak butter tea. Even if you end up simply pointing at another diner’s food to order, you won’t regret it.
The owner is a local Tibetan couple by the name of Yeshi Mutso and Ajie. They are a very hard working and nice couple, and they opened the restaurant in June of 2014. Previously, both of them were local farmers, but they couldn’t make enough money to support the family and send their kids to school in the village at the same time. So instead, they decided to open a restaurant in the city. Even though they started with nothing, now their restaurant is doing well and their kids are being educated at the school in town.
Inside the Zang Yuan Qing Tibetan Restaurant
The wife, Yeshi Mutso, is the chef and her husband, Ajie, serves as one of the waiters. There are not only a happy couple, but they also make great business partners, as is evidenced by the growth in their business!
When looking for the restaurant, you will find a fruit and vegetable market in front of the restaurant and on the rest of the street as it curves around. There are also a few shops that sell local clothing and handcrafted products along this street. The purple interior of this restaurant will stand out if you are looking in the doors of the right restaurant. (We couldn’t get the name of the street, but if you hop in a taxi, or ask at your hotel, hopefully you will find it. It’s worth the search.)
If you walk along the left side of the same street (heading away from the river), you will find Maerkang square where the locals usually gather around 7:00pm to start Tibetan circle dancing. If you’re interested, they do this for two hours every evening and you are always welcome to join. The best way learn the moves is to watch other people.
Local Tibetan noodle at Zang Yuan Qing Tibetan Restaurant
Maerkang is a place where most Rgayl Rong peole live. It’s a nice place to explore, and choosing to experience their local food will be one of your trip highlights. We encourage you to try some local food at Zang Yuan Qing Tibetan Restaurant if you have chance to visit Maerkang.
There is a beautiful Rgyal Rong Tibetan town on the way to Maerkang Town, named Zhuo Ke Ji town. Zhuo Ke Ji is well-known place because the Zhuo Ke Ji Tusi Official Manor (a chieftain house) and the Xisuo Tibetan villages are located there. The town is just across from the Tibetan village, with easy access via the bridge connecting the village and town. It is a small but very nice town, and when looking for a meal, you can find Chinese, Muslim, and Tibetan food. As you are travelling through Tibet, take this opportunity to try the local Tibetan food. If you choose to go this route, alongside the river you can find the De Le Tibetan Restaurant. It’s easy to recognize the restaurant with the prayer flags strung between the restaurant and river.
When entering De Le’s you will be warmly welcomed by the restaurant’s owners. The restaurant has two stories and is decorated with wooden furnishings. It is simple, but well organized, and internet is available and very fast in the restaurant. They also have a few tables outside if you want to enjoy your meal beside the river with a view of the mountains.
The De Le Tibetan Restaurant is run by three Tibetan siblings, Wangxi Mutso, Luoyi Jia, and Tsering Lhamo. Coming from a local Tibetan village, they opened the restaurant in May of 2014. All of them went to vocational schools and majored in hotel management and accounting, but they decided to start a restaurant with their education and skills instead.
The De Le Tibetan Restaurant is a colorful place to enjoy a meal.
They started the business because more and more tourists are coming to their hometown to visit Zhuo Ke Ji Tusi Official Manor and the Xisuo Tibetan village, but there was not a single Tibetan restaurant in the town. So they took the opportunity, and decided to let visitors taste local Tibetan food. The local pork, corn bread, local vegetables, yak meat, momos (dumplings), and noodles with local sour vegetables are their most popular dishes. For drinks, their butter tea with walnut is popular.
While the owners don’t speak English, they are happy to provide travellers with the best local food. If you find yourself travelling through Zhuo Ke Ji town, stop by the De Le Tibetan Restaurant for a meal, and a quaint slice of Tibetan hospitality.
Guests can also enjoy their meal outside of the restaurant beneath the prayer flags leading to the entrance.
Contact Info:
Address: Zhuo Ke Ji Town, Commercial Town, Dele Tibetan Restaurant. (Walk along the river and look for the prayer flags leading to the door.)
Ruoergai grassland is the second largest grassland in the Tibetan regions and it is also one of the most beautiful marshland in China. This grassland is home to yaks, sheep, and horses, while the marsh is officially recognized as the homeland of the black necked crane. Ruoergai is one of the best places to learn about and experience Tibetan nomadic life. The boundless grassland, blue sky, and gorgeous black and white tents will make you want to look over and over again. You may even want to try to ride a yak or a horse when you see the local shepherds riding their horses on the beautiful grassland. Or maybe you will want to help local nomads milk and make their butter and cheese? Whatever the grasslands stir inside of you, we really don’t want you to miss a visit to this very fascinating place if you have any chance to travel here. While you travel the Ruoergai Grasslands, we would recommend a visit to “Huahu Daqain Shijie”. Huahu Daqian Shijie will bring you authentic local Tibetan nomadic life.
Huahu Daqian Shijie is located next to the famous tourist place HuaHu (“Flower Lake”). Only a five-minute walk across the street, it was founded by Langmu Monastery in April of 2015. Many people visit this area because of its proximity to Flower Lake, so in order to educate visitors on local nomadic culture, and to provide jobs to the young people who didn’t get a lot of education, Langmu monastery built the complex system that makes up Huahu Daqain Shijie.
While owned by Langmu Monastery, the day to day management of the site is run by locals. Dolma Tsetan is one of the main managers at the hotel, and he is a kind and caring man whose education is mostly self-taught. In the past few years in particular he has spent a lot of time joining managerial and skills training seminars to enrich his knowledge of business.
Dolma Tsetan has proved himself to be a very capable man, and he works with more than 40 employees. The majority of his employees are local nomads and farmers who have not received a lot of education, but he has trained them to work as servers and other staff to welcome their guests warmly.
Huahu Daqian Shijie is a fascinating place to experience nomadic life.
The lodging here is very different from what you have probably had before. All of their lodgings are white ger/yurt (tents) holding a total of about 300 beds. You can choose your tent based on your budget and the number of features you would like it to include. There are VIP types of ger which are quite luxurious (particularly considering you’re in a tent), gers with double beds and private shower rooms, or ger with double rooms but which share a public bathroom. The beds are comfortable and clean, and built to stand up to the weather on the Tibetan plateau.
In the center of the site you will find a small lake and island. Guests are welcome to take a stroll around the lake, enjoy the sunshine under the shade of the circular gazebo roof, or enjoy a spot of yak milk tea by the lake. Every evening, people gather together to dance in the traditional Tibetan style. Another place to check out while here is to take a quick peak into the tent which is set up like an education center about the artifacts of Tibetan nomad life.
With food, you have option of having Chinese food along the street, or Tibetan food at the restaurant hotel. We would recommend you to have Tibetan food (would your Tibetan experience be complete without it?). The hotel restaurant is probably one of the most unique restaurants you have even eaten in before. When coming off of the road, the restaurant is on the left side of the front gate and is pretty recognizable as it is situated in a big black yak wool tent.
Heading inside the tent (once your eyes have adjusted a little), you will find a Tibetan style fireplace which will be using the authentic firewood – yak dung. Choose one of the low tables and sit cross legged on the beautiful sheep skin mats. While it might be hard for you to sit on the ground in this manner for the entire meal, enjoy the experience of how the nomads truly share life. Yak meat and yak meat sausage, fresh yogurt, lamb, momos (dumplings), and milk tea are the most popular food on the menu here.
Huahu Daqian Shijie black tent restaurant is a nice place to enjoy local nomadic food.
The staff at Huahu Daqian Shijie warmly welcomes people from all over the world to experience the authentic Tibetan nomad’s lifestyle. If you choose to stay here or even just drop by for a meal, we think you will have a rewarding and pleasant stay.
Contact Info:
Address: Across from Flower Lake just outside of Ruoergai (5 minutes walk)
While it’s easy to find a restaurant where you can have authentic Tibetan food, it is hard to find a restaurant in Hong Yuan town, in the Amdo Tibetan Region, where you can experience the local Tibetan style. However, at the Black Tent Restaurant, guests experience both. Run by a young local Tibetan nomad Gasang Gun who only has primary school education, the restaurant stands as a testament to his hard work and dedication to his culture. The restaurant was found in 2007, and it was one of the earliest Tibetan restaurants in the town. As yak meat, butter, cheese, milk, and yogurt are some of the main foods for nomads, Gasang Gun decided to bring a little nomad life to the town.
There are a few restaurants in the town, but on observation Black Tent Restaurant is the most popular among the local people. While many tourists visit Hong Yuan, most are not lucky enough to know about the place. Instead, most of Black Tent’s customers are local nomads who know what the real authentic food tastes like. If you visit the restaurant, it’s not uncommon to see entire Tibetan families – from the grandparents to the toddlers – stopping by for a meal.
Momos at the black tent restaurant
Hong Yuan is known for their yak dairy products, so if you are looking for Tibetan yak meat and yogurt, Black Tent restaurant is one of the best places! While here, we tried their momos, rice with yak meat, yogurt, and yak milk tea, and Gasang Gun’s cooking does not disappoint!
Gasang Gun was able to expand his restaurant in the past few years with his hard work, and passion for food and culture. He opened two more restaurants in both Hong Yuan town and Aba town, and currently employs 13 Tibetan staff between his 3 restaurants. He is the main chef and manager for the Black Tent Restaurant in Hong Yuan, with his other chefs being trained by him. Gasang Gun said that it usually takes a few months to train each of his chefs properly, but he is very happy to take the time to do it for the quality of the food, and the education of his staff. In the future, Gasang Gun wants to open more restaurants in some of the other Tibetan towns to let more people experience the flavors of nomad food.
The road to the black tent restaurant
Contact Info:
Address: East Road of Jiangxi, Honyuan County town.
Tibetan Family Kitchen is becoming a landmark in Lhasa for good reason. It was founded by a young and enthusiastic Tibetan couple in 2013. Namdon and Lumbum were tour guides for many years, but unfortunately in 2012 there were far too few tour groups to make a living. With the help and encouragement of Namdom’s sister, they decided to open a home-style restaurant, as both of them are great at making local Tibetan food and have experience in working with foreign guests. Seven years later they have progressed well beyond this small beginning.
Tibetan cooking classes offered at Tibetan Family Kitchen.
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 the one room kitchen operation they started in back in 2013 has grown into a two-story restaurant with a roof-top patio near the old town, the friendliness and hospitality of the staff still ensures every guest experiences the warmth and welcome of a “family kitchen”. They also offer cooking classes if you are interested in the local food culture and learning how to make some of the dishes yourself.
Guests enjoying themselves at the Tibetan Family Kitchen
The unique entrance to the Tibetan Kitchen takes you straight past the open concept kitchen, before passing through to the dining area. As most kitchens are hidden in the back of restaurants, its almost as if Namdon is intentionally showing off one the cleanest kitchens in the whole city of Lhasa, and offering travelers peace of mind before they even order their food. If the weather is agreeable we highly recommend requesting a table on the roof-top which offers a special panorama view of the the city.
Rooftop dining offers panoramic views of Lhasa Tibet
Namdon and her husband Lumbum have years of guiding experience between the two of them, having taken foreign guests to Everest and beyond for many years. They have excellent English and are a great source of travel information both in Lhasa and all areas throughout Tibet. They are eager to please and only hope in return that foreign guests will have an enjoyable and memorable experience of Tibet.
The entrance to Tibetan Family Kitchen
Finding the entrance to the Tibetan Family Kitchen requires some careful searching. Use the address below and keep an eye out for the sign on top of the building, as well as the one on the street level. It is located on the second floor off of Dan Jie Lin Road leading to the Barkhor area. The entranceway is a small passageway up some stairs between local shops. It is well worth searching for!
Metok Karpo is a gem of a restaurant located near Barkor in central Lhasa. Though it is hidden away in a narrow alley beside the Snowlands restaurant, it is well worth the effort to track it down. The low doorway is on your right hand side if you are walking from the main street, and it is usually full of mostly local clientele due to the appeal of the authentic flavors of the nomadic cooks! Your presence will attract some friendly smiles so be sure to smile in return!
The entrance to Metok Karpo Restaurant.
The restaurant was founded by young Tibetan nomadic lady Thupten Choemo in 2008. She is a single mother with a daughter. While sending kids to school in Lhasa is free, there are some expenses for her daughter because they are from nomadic area. Choemo wants her daughter to get a good education. She has never run a business before in her life, but she is very interested in making Tibetan food. Her religion teaches her that everything one does should be done with one’s best effort, and so this spills over into not just her life, but her food as well. Therefore, Choemo believes that to make good food, you must put your heart and soul into every aspect of the preparation.
Once you step inside you encounter a very funky atmosphere reminiscent of a Spanish grotto. The small interior immediately gives it a family kitchen feel complimented by the warm smiles of Choemo. An English menu is offered for the convenience of foreign travelers, and everything on the menu is always fresh. As the hosts do not speak English (or Chinese for that matter), simply point at the menu items that appeal to your appetite!
Inside the Metok Karpo Restaurant
The menu is not extensive, but is diverse and represents the favorites of the local population. The Lhasa sweet tea brings welcome refreshment after a morning of visiting the sites around Lhasa. Cold beer is also on hand if that is your preferred refreshment. If you enjoy meat, the dishes with yak meat are extremely delicious, but for those who prefer vegetarian, the menu caters to this as well. For dessert there is usually fresh yoghurt available, and it often fits as a perfect way to finish your meal.
In the future, Choemo wants to expand her restaurant, and we wish her all the best as she makes her dream come true. If you find yourself traveling in Lhasa, we recommend you pay a visit to the lovely nomadic lady Choemo for a hearty meal.
Contact Info:
地址：丹杰林路 6-1-14.
电话： 08916326933
Address: Danjieling road No 6-1-14 (Five minutes walking distance to Jokhang temple in Barkor)
Located in Lhasa, the Po Ba Tsang Restaurant is serving guests more than just food, and they are proving that being at the roof of the world is a rewarding, yet challenging task. Guests to Lhasa are continually amazed by the local historical and cultural sites, and they are often touched by the local peoples’ devotion to their religion, and hospitality for their visitors.
Unfortunately though, due to political issues, homestays are not allowed to operate in Lhasa, but if they were, travelers would undoubtedly enjoy this option. Instead, those looking for a fabulous experience of Tibetan traditional food, performance, and hospitality should stop by Po Ba Tsang Restaurant in order to experience the spirit of local Tibet. A cozy and welcoming restaurant, Po Ba Tsang was a deliberately chosen name, as “Po Ba” means Tibetan, and “Tsang” means home & family. Travelers are always welcome to visit Po Ba Tsang if they have a chance to visit the holy city of Lhasa.
Performers at Po Ba Tsang Restaurant.
The restaurant was founded in 2009 by a young, talented, and well-educated local Tibetan man named Chemey. Chemey used to work as an emcee, chef, and teacher, and even today he stills teaches, just not as much as he once did. Now he focuses on his restaurant business, and is very passionate about showing people traditional food, and classical song and dance performances. Po Ba Tsang has around 30 employees, with this including his artists and performers.
Every night the restaurant performs time-honored songs and dances with traditional dress and instruments. The soft and peaceful music will bring you back to a time in history when there was no hustle and bustle of today’s modern day city to be heard. Rather, the listener can easily imagine themselves in the midst of a grassland surrounded by nomadic herders, and many come to wonder if the Tibetan love of singing comes from living so close to the roof of the world. With the performers voices seemingly as high as Mt. Everest, and as pure as the land they spring from, dinners in the evening linger just a little longer than they should.
Traditional Tibetan Hotpot is served at Po Ba Tsang Restaurant
Patrons of Po Ba Tsang don’t only come for the song and dance, but because the restaurant specializes in Tibetan Hotpot. With dinner and a show, guests often sample the flavors of locally made Tibetan beer and wine.
In the past fear years, Chemey has faced challenges, but he has also gained valuable experience about the restaurant business. He has trained many staff, and he hopes that Po Ba Tsang continues to show and preserve the local performing arts, all while providing healthy, delicious, and authentic local food to his guests.
Contact Info:
地址： 北京东路错美林路口向丹杰林100米右手二楼（光明港琼甜茶馆对面）
订做电话0891-6899000
Address: Dan Jie lin Road ( Right In Front of Guangming Gangqiong Tian Cha House).
The Malaya Tibetan Restaurant was founded in 2006. Located in the heart of the town of Kangding, it is the oldest and best Tibetan Restaurant in town. The restaurant is run by a young and knowledgeable Tibetan guy – Xirao – who is from Minyak, in the Kham region. Xirao received his education in China, and he speaks fluent Tibetan, Chinese, and English. He is passionate about Tibetan culture, especially culture that is shown through food.
Inside the Malaya Tibetan Restaurant
Inside Malaya, the decorations are very beautiful and unique. In order to give clients a healthy and comfortable environment, Xirao renovated the restaurant in 2014. There are 14 staff at the restaurant, all of whom are Tibetan. The Malaya restaurant has been providing job opportunities to young, local Tibetans, which has been accompanied by providing the necessary training to see their staff continue to grow. The staff welcome their diners with enthusiasm, and they are always happy to provide the best food and service to their customers.
Inside the restaurant, there are 5 different private rooms, and a large dining hall which can hold more than 100 people. Such a large dining room allows them to offer the space for large parties and events. Malaya has a beautiful view which is complemented with the delicious food and Tibetan music. While visiting Malaya, try their Tibetan butter tea or local Tibetan wines. As a result of Malaya’s enjoyable food and their quality of the service, the restaurant was recognized in 2015 as the “most unique local restaurant” by the local tourist administration.
Tucked away in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan, is the Bollywood Restaurant. Run by a local Tibetan named Wanjia, you will find this bustling eatery with a colorful flare serving up Indian rice bowls and nam bread. Yet don’t be fooled, as some of these dishes, while authentic to Indian flavor, can’t help but mix in a little Tibetan culture – can you say yak meat, anyone?
Wangjia is from the Yushu area, in the Kham region, with his hometown being the lowest altitude place in all of Yushu.
Wangjia received his education in China, and he speaks fluent Tibetan, Chinese, and English. He is a very outgoing, and knowledgeable Tibetan man. He realized there were some Indian restaurants in Chengdu, but most of them are far away from the Tibetan area of the city. With the Tibetan connection to Indian spiritually, he wanted one closer. The market research he undertook indicated that the Tibetan area of the city could support an Indian restaurant.
Various seating options allow any number of parties to come and try the Indian/Tibetan food
The Bollywood Restaurant is decorated in blend of Tibetan and Indian style. The restaurant invites guests to host parties in their space for up to 100 people, and there is a meeting room that can hold 20 people. There are 12 staff at the restaurant – all of them are young and enthusiastic Tibetans, two of which are family members, and all of them speak Tibetan, Chinese, and English. Most of their ingredients are imported from India because Wangjia wants to ensure both the quality, and that the food reflects true Indian cuisine.
Extravagant employees showing off some beautiful clothing
The Bollywood Restaurant has two unique products to try while you are there. One is Beef (Yak) Curry, which is one of the Tibetan/Indian fusion dishes that travelers must try. The other is Butter Nam, which is baked in a Tandoor stove using a very hot and fast cooking process.
Wangjia hopes that he can train more Tibetan chefs in the future. He also wants to expand his business to a chain of restaurants either in Chengdu, or to include other major cities. This expansion would hopefully require the training of even more Tibetan chefs in the future!
Contact Info:
地址：成都市武侯区高升桥北街成都A区高华二街69号【宝莱坞印度西餐厅】联系人: 义西求加
电话：15680755882 座机：028-85586914
Address: #69 Gaohua Second Street, First Ring Road, Wuhou District
There are two Tewaga Tibetan Restaurants for travellers to enjoy. One in Tiewu (Amdo Region), and the other in Chengdu, operated by the same management.
One of the owners, Asang, is from North East Tibet. He was born a small village in a stunning valley called “Zhagana”. It is considered as one of the most beautiful places in the Amdo Tibetan Region.
Asang went to university in Chengdu where he majored in Tibetan studies. Asang is a very knowledgeable, yet humble man who speaks Tibetan, Chinese, and English. His wife is a well-known Tibetan singer, Karma Jangdrol Drolma. They are both very passionate about education and social entrepreneurship.
Opening of the new restaurant back in 2012. One can see the beautiful singer: Karma Jangdrol Drolma.
Together they opened their first Tibetan restaurant in 2006 in Tiewu county town, which is Asang’s hometown. They realized that a small business could make profit, but more importantly, business can help other people.
The first restaurant encouraged them to take next step, so they opened their second restaurant in Chengdu in 2012. They wanted to continue providing people with healthy and organic, local Tibetan food in the big city of Chengdu.
Healthy, organic Tibetan food offered to all in the big city of Chengdu
Now they have 12 employees in total. A previous employee even opened their own restaurant after working and learning skills for a few years at one of Asang’s restaurants.
Together, Asang and his wife want to continue offering more organic food to their clients, and to provide more job opportunities to Tibetans.
If you visit either restaurant, some of Tewaga’s popular dishes include their Tibetan hotpot, and yak ribs.
Contact Info:
总店地址：甘肃省甘南州迭部县扎尕那藏餐宫。 联系电话：0941-5623333
Headquarters : Zhagana Tibetan Restaurant, Die Bu County Town, Gannan Prefecture, Ganshu Province. Phone: 0941-5623333
A Re is the name of a very well known chain of restaurants in Chengdu, but also that of the business owner. The namesake herself was born in a very alluring and remote Tibetan valley, Danba, in the Kham Tibetan Region.
A Re didn’t get the chance to attend school to get an education when she was a child, so she came to Chengdu 16 years ago to look for service-oriented jobs. This was her first time visiting Chengdu, and she was surprised to learn that there were no Tibetan restaurants in the area at the time. As a result, she came up with the idea of opening a restaurant in Chengdu, and introducing Tibetan food culture to the city through her restaurant. Fortunately for her, her brother supported her idea and was able to help her, so, A Re opened the first Tibetan restaurant in Chengdu.
Looking to have some traditional Tibetan food? A Re’s Restaurant has made sure you will find a wide variety of foods to try, from meat to vegetarian options.
Now, A Re runs 5 restaurants in Chengdu, two of which are solely vegetarian. She believes that eating healthy food is very critical to the well being of people, so she is continually looking to offer healthier food to her customers. While here, try the Tibetan style hotpot, noodles, or “pizza”.
The restaurant has provided a lot of job opportunities to Tibetans, and now employs over 70 staff. Of the employees, 90% of them are Tibetans.
A Re makes sure that all food is healthy and organic for her customers. She believes this is essential for the well being of all people.
A Re regrets that she couldn’t go to school, so she encourages young Tibetans to get education, and to use their education and skills to help their community. She has been providing training to people who are interested in working as restaurant mangers or chefs. So far, A Re has cultivated about 40 Tibetan restaurants managers and more than 100 Tibetan chefs in just the past few years alone.
