Eating in Tibet
Lhasa's catering business is developing. Besides Tibetan diet, all styles of cooking including Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and western food can all be enjoyed here. Tibetan diet, Sichuan cuisine, northwest wheaten food, northeast cuisine are most typical here. Tibetan diet, rich in variety, is mainly made up of beef and mutton. Don't eat too much the first time in case of dyspepsia. If you are not used to the buttered tea, you can drink sweet milk tea. Highland Barley Wine is not strong but too much taken will result in deep sleep; so, be sure not to drink too much. When eating some dishes, such as raw meat pulp, you should eat some garlic. In some small restaurants, a dish and a soup just cost about RMB10. And the northwest hand-pulled noodles are rather cheap. Nourishing Thenthuk (Tibetan noodles) with bone soup cost only RMB 4 yuan. Generally, the level of consumption on food is higher than that of inland.
(Highland Barley) is the main ingredient of tsampa. Tsampa is actually barley flour made from parched 
barley, un-husked and ground into fine flour and then eaten with butter. People also make tsampa by mixing qingke flour and peas. Tsampa made from qingke is a Tibetan traditional food, severed in the restaurants of Lhasa to accommodate the visitors from all over the world. At religious festivals, Tibetans will shed tsampa as a way of blessing.
Tibetan mainly live on beef, mutton and milk products. In the pastoral areas, people don't eat vegetables. In this area even in the whole Tibetan area the diet is monotonous, rich in fat and protein. As is known, beef and mutton is rich in calories, which is good for people living on the tableland to keep warm. It's interesting that the Tibetan has a custom to eat raw meat. If you go to a herdsman's or a farmer's home, you will see the air-dried beef and mutton hung inside the house or tents. And the host will treat you to such meat, which can only be tasted on the tableland.
Tibetan medicines are mysterious. Mashed yak meat is the mixture of some Tibetan medicines and mashed 
raw beef, blood red, pungent, and you will feel hot inside after eating it. It's said that Tibet is a place where time can stop, and people today still like to enjoy the sunshine at the foot of the Potala Palace after such a good meal, feeling rather satisfied.
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Belows are the information of Lhasa Restaurant just for your reference.
| Name | Address | Telphone | Marks |
| Lhasa Anand Restaurant | No 17 Yu Tuo Road, Chengguan District, Lhasa (East Jokhang Temple 50m) | 86-0891-6306111 | The holder of this restaurant is a Nepalese. Lhasa Anand Restaurant serves Tibetan cuisine, Chinese dishes, food and Nepalese food. It’s an open garden restanrant. |
| Lhasa Stone House | At the upstairs of the Potara Palace Snow Surply and Distribution Agency, Lhasa | 86-0891-6321627 | |
| Nationality Flavor Restaurant | Locates at the oppisite of the Jiri Hotel, the East Beijing Road. | 86-0891-6323296 | It is the largest Tibetan restaurant in Lhasa. There have halls and compartments and offer chinese caterpillar fungus food or ordinary dishes. |
| Lhasa Namaste Restaurant | No 30 Yu Tuo Road, Chenggaun District, Lhasa (opposite of the Jokhang Temple) | 86-0891-6324669 | Lhasa Namaste Restaurant serves Tibetan, Nepalese, Indian, Chinese and Western food. The waiters can speak English and are friendly. |
| Lhasa Naga Restaurant and Bar | Zang Yiyuan Dong Lu(about four minutes far away from Jokhang Temple) | 86-0891-6327509 | Naga is a restaurant and bar serving France and Nepal food. The decor is distinct and there is a fat and lovely Nepal cat. There are special low tables where dinners can sit cross-legged on the floor. Selections of international magazines are available. |
| Lhasa Gangki Restaurant | Zang Yiyuan Lu (near Barkhor Square) , Lhasa | 86-0891-6328263 | Its price is reasonable which is fit for backpackers. Interior of this restaurant is authentic Tibetan styles, which will enable you seem like having entered a Tibetan family. The Gangki Restaurant of course serves nice Tibetan food, drinks and snacks and as well as western-style food, Chinese food, etc. |
| Snow-Sweat Tea House | At the left of the Potala Palace | 86-0891-6329822 | |
| Mayke Ame | facing China Telecome on the opposite street | 86-0891-6328608 | On the southeast corner of the Barkhor circuit stands Lhasa's most enchanting eatery, Makye Ame, which can be translated as Holy Mother. This may be the first Tibetan chain restaurant. In this restaurant, you can also enjoy the traveling stories left by the former visitors as well as the love legend between the sixth Dalai Lama and his lover Mayke Ame long long ago. |
| Manzhai Restaurant | Manzhai Hotel Barkhor South Street | 86-0891-6329645 | |
| Dunya Restaurant and Bar | Beijing Dong Lu 100, Lhasa(right next to the Yak hotel) | 86-0891-6333374 | Owned by a Dutch couple, it’s located on the busy East Beijing Road, right next to the Yak hotel. It’s enhanced by a lively atmosphere replete with happily singing staff. The menu offers pizza, pasta, and a range of Asian dishes, from Malaysian noodles to vegetable dumplings. |
| Kyi Chu Hotel | NO.149 Beijing East Road, Lhasa | 86-0891-6331541 | |
| Ganglamedo | Beijing Dong Lu 127, Lhasa | 86-0891-6333657 | This clean, cozy restaurant has a limited range of Western and Tibetan dishes and a good choice of pricey coffees (20-30RMB) and imported beers and wines (135-560RMB per bottle). Staff is friendly and walls are adorned with local paintings. |
| Snow Lotus Tibetan Restaurant | The south side of the Tibet Hospital Road, Lhasa | 86-0891-6336664 | |
| Yak Restauant | NO.101 Beijing East Road, Lhasa | 86-0891-6336845 | A famouse tibetan style restaurant Lhasa,which was decorated in typical tibetan style.This restaurant offer the Tibetan food.And you also can enjoy the folk dance and singing at there. |
| Holy City Restaurant | In Tibet Hotel, Lhasa | 86-0891-6338710 | |
| Lhasa Kyichu Restaurant | No 149 Beijing East Road, Chengguan District, Lhasa | 86-0891-6338824 | Kyichu Restaurant is the restaurant of Kyichu Hotel. Kyichu Hotel is a two-star hotel in Lhasa. There open air Kyichu Garden Restaurant has umbrella tables in green courtyard lawn. It serves a wide range of continental, Tibetan, western, Indian food and so on. |
| Alu Cang Restaurant | Duosenge Lu 21-32, Lhasa，Close to Drepung Monastery | 86-0891-6338826 | This restaurant is a longtime favorite with locals, who appreciate its unpretentious style and hearty cuisine. The English menu is unreliable, with beef and lamb often translated as yak. Specialties include radish with yak meat (lamb) and fried mutton spareribs. |
| New Mandala Restaurant | the Bakhor Area, Lhasa | 86-0891-6342235 | |
| Lhasa Kitchen Restaurant | No.3 Minchi Khang Easet Road, Lhasa, China | 86-0891-6348855 | A restaurant with Nepalese style food.Near the Yak hotel and Bakhor street. |
| Snow-Deity Palace Tibetan Style Restaurant | At the west of the Potara Place Plaza, Lhasa | 86-0891-9003803 | The restaurant has a elegant surrounding and is one of the slap-up Tibetan Style restaurants in Lhasa. The waitresses with skilled services are all Tibetan. There are authentic Tibetan food, such as fresh meat soy sauce, fried muttonchop and Tibetan steamed stuffed bun. |
| Snowland Restaurant | NO.4 Tibetan Hospital Road (Zang Yi Yuan Lu), Lhasa | 86-0891-6323687 6337323 | Near Bakhor street, it's famed for the tibetan food and western food. |
| Snowman Restaurant | At the West Beijing Road, Lhasa | 86-0891-6815755 | |
| Lhasa Barkhor Café | 20 Barkhor Street, Lhasa, Tibet, China | 86-0891-6326892 | It is a quiet and nice cafe for enjoy the street view. Barkhor Cafe is famous for its rooftop terrace, where guests can enjoy a cup of drink to enjoy the sunset over the Jokhang Temple. Barkhor Cafe provides internet service too which is attractable in Tibet. |
| Spinn Café | Beijing Donglu Qinggu Alley. Close to All the world hotel | 86-0891-6361163 | It’s recommended by Lonely Planet. One of the hosts is from Thailand and the other from Hongkong. People say you can taste real coffee here. You can enjoy the good drinks as well as good stories left by other traveler. |
| Milan Cafe | No.220 the Middle Beijing Road, Lhasa | 86-0891-6816818 | Offer good services and delicious Tibetan, Western and Nepal food. There is a special tasty drink, Honey Yoghourt, which you will never forget it. |
| Wonderful Vegetarian House | Linju Lu (near Tibet University, West Gate), | 86-0891-6363494 | |
| Holy Land Vegetarian Restaurant | Linkuo Bei Lu Waibanshang Pingfang 10, Lhasa | 86-0891-6363851 | Waitresses greet you with a cup of light tea and a watermelon slice, and then the gluttony begins. Fake meat tends to creep some people out, but the wheat gluten and tofu replicas of chicken, sausage, and even intestines, are more delicious than the real thing. |
