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| Ignore the instant coffee. Top left, clockwise: tsampa (roasted barley flour), cheese, butter, sugar |
Breakfasts were included as part of the tour, lunches and dinners were self-funded. Lunch venues were wherever the driver and guide brought us. They asked what we wanted to eat on day 1 to which we answered Tibetan food. After that, they have always stopped at a Tibetan eatery for lunch except the last day when we were on the way back to Shigatse. It was a Sichuan restaurant midway. We went dinner by ourselves and we always pick a Tibetan eatery. Tibetan food, however, wasn't the highlight of the trip and food on offer were more or less the same. I think Tibetan eateries sell Chinese dishes too.
Breakfast
Most of the accommodations we stayed came with breakfast, except the one in Saga and Darchen. I skipped breakfast in Shigatse, the last day in Tibet because I had an upset stomach starting at 3 am with many toilet runs. Sis, who ate the very same thing as me slept through the night. So I don't know what was it that my stomach didn't agree with.
The breakfasts we had can kind of split into 3 types - Chinese breakfasts provided by smaller local guesthouses, mixture with non Asian breakfasts in bigger hotels and Tibetan breakfasts.
Chinese breakfast
The main item was congee and side dishes accompaniment. Of the 3 types of breakfasts, I like this one the least. Guess I am not a fan of the plain diluted congee for breakfast.
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| Breakfast at Nyingchi Long Du Hotel - Congee with side dishes |
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| Breakfast at Lulang Local Homestay - Also congee but tastier side dish, and the famous butter tea |
By the third day, I didn't feel like eating breakfast and almost thought I had symptoms of altitude sickness. However I did enjoy the items I chose so there was no issue with my appetite. I had second helping of sweet potatoes and that chewy bun with red sugar filling. I don't remember the label on the buffet table.
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| Breakfast at Himalaya Basongcuo Resort Hotel - Thank goodness for sweet potatoes |
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| This was tasty too, chewy kind of bun with red sugar filling |
On our second stay in Saga on the way back to Lhasa, the driver thought we had gotten tired of having thukpa for breakfast so he brought us for Chinese breakfast. The food below was for 2 person. I don't know how the driver and guide felt we can finish all the food. We asked if we can cancel the dumplings order but they told us we could takeaway if we couldn't finish.
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| 8 dumplings were packed for takeaway |
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| Another round of congee and side dishes at Rongbuk Guesthouse |
Continental breakfast
Even when continental breakfast items were on offered, there would still have the staple congee and side dishes which we skipped.
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| Breakfast at Lhasa Banak Shol Hotel - tasty butter and we tried tsampa |
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| Breakfast at Gyantse Nyangchu Manor House Hotel - this was a much bigger hotel and they had soya bean drink |
I think we were the only guests in this hotel because it looked empty-ish and nobody was at breakfast except us.
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| Breakfast at Sakya Yuanfu Hotel. One flask for water and another for butter tea |
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| Breakfast at Gang Gadisi Hotel Zanda. That's sweet tea, not butter tea |
Tibetan breakfast
The guide carried his own supply of tsampa but we tried tsampa in the Lhasa hotel. Referring to the first picture, tsampa breakfast was made by mixing all the ingredients - tsampa, dried cheese, butter and sugar with a small glug of butter tea. A small portion goes a long way. We didn't make a lot in case we didn't like it. I find it ok but tasted better with sugar.
The hotels in Saga and Darchen didn't offer breakfast so the driver and guide brought us out for breakfast. This was the first non-hotel breakfast we had and it was in Saga. I dont know what's the Tibetan name of the deep fried flat bread with meat filling dish was called as it was just referred to as bread. This was the best version we had.
As you can see, all the Tibetan breakfast we had were some combination of thukpa, hard boiled egg, flat bread with meat filling and sweet tea. I like this version of thukpa but so far I have fail to find this type of thukpa in Melbourne.
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| We ordered a thukpa each but no bread |
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| The bread here was thicker so not crispy |
Side note: How come most Tibetan restaurant only sells momos?
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