Day 12 - Taste Bud Challenge

Day 12

Today we will be roaming round Llasa to challenge our taste buds.
There isn’t a lot written about Tibetan cuisine, and people always say Tibetan can’t cook. The Lonely planet Guide states that, “Tibet is unlikely to become a hot destination for foodies....... Tibetan food is more about survival than pleasure...”

So if they can’t cook, what then do they eat? Due to its unique geographic location, Tibetan food has to adapt. Tibetan food is not only sustenance, but also helps them survive the harsh climates. Tibetan cuisine is based on limited ingredients that are available to them. The main ingredients are barley, yaks, mutton, salt and tea.

Teamed up with Chin and Chong, we were on our mission. First we tried the air-dried yak meat. The dried meat was crisp and tasted good. It’s a bit like beef jerky.

Lunch at A’Luocang canting, we ordered Tsamthuk Soup, Fried lamb ribs, Bobi set and Tibetan sausage.

The Tsamthuk Soup was somewhat rich and thick with chunks of yak, shredded radish, spinach leaves, and thickened with tsampa.

The Fried Lamb Ribs was nothing like our BBQ Ribs, it was marinated in chilli powder, spring onions and mustard oil, then deep-fried till crisp and hard. It was very spicy and hot.

The Bobi Set was similar to kebab, with sautéed veggies and shreds of yak meat wrapped in unleavened wheat bread. Um, Yum.

Tibetan Sausage was stuffed with spiced lamb intestines, I only had one bite!

During our lunch, we were debating whether we should go to the Everest Base Camp, it was a long way from Lhasa and we were not geared to trek. Well, we were now. We went to our travel agent to change our itinerary and organised some trekking gears. We would go to Yamdrok Tso the next morning as planned and continue our journey to Everest Base Camp.

We went back to our hotel to have a nap before dinner.

Dinner at Ethnic Restaurant. We had a Tibetan Banquet. Wow, you wouldn’t believe what we ate. Quick boiled blood sausage (sausage filled with sheep blood); Steamed ox tongue; raw beef paste (a mixture of mashed raw beef and Tibetan herbs); Xiahe Hoof Tendon (sheep hoof tendons boil with agarics and lily); Yak meat stewed with radish and Roast Highland Pig. The dishes were mostly tasty and unique.

We were full, happy and satisfied.

Day 10 & 11 Nam-Tso

Day 10 & 11

Early in the morning we set off from Lhasa on a 7 seated Land Cruiser 4WD. It was for 2days/1 night to Nam- Tso. Our driver was a Chinese man living in Lhasa, named Yan. He came to Lhasa 10 years ago, and loved it so much , he stayed.

In Tibetan, Nam Tso means ‘Heavenly Lake’. It is located at 4700m high and is the second largest salt lake in China with surface of 1961 sq km. We headed steadily up into the mountains, we passed by large plains dotted with yaks and nomad tents. We stopped a few times to gawp at the views and went to toilet. There was hardly any toilet, we managed to find one but it was so disgusting that we did not dare to go in. We finished our business behind the bush. The winding road was very bumpy and dusty. Few more hours of driving, we got our first sight of the lake – stunning shade of turquoise. The sky and the mountains were of the same tint. It was simply breathing (beauty not altitude).

After walking around some hills on the shore, we had to find a place to stay, there were either tents or tin box to choose from. We opted to stay in a tent. There was no water and electricity in the tent. Inside the tent, there were 10 single beds, a cupboard at the entrance with instant noodle cups and hot water bottles in it.

After settling in, we walked towards the water to appreciate the beauty of the lake, taking millions of photos. There were birds, wild yaks, goats and other animals leisurely looking for food along the lake shores; thousands of prayer flags fluttering in the wind up in the sky, what a scenic vista.

By this point, the weather closed in and we were a bit hungry, however, there were only limited places to choose to eat. We decided to go to the one owned by our tent owner. There was no menu, actually, there was no need to have a menu. They only had Tsampa (roasted barley flour) and hot yak butter tea. Whaaaaat! butter tea again. Tsampa can be eaten as it is, usually by the spoonful, and washed down with butter tea. I quite like the taste of Tsampa, it tasted a bit like sesame powder, but the butter tea... I took a sip of the tea with Tsampa, the minute I put my cup down, the owner quickly filled it up, then I had another sip, she filled it up again. It suddenly occurred to me that like Chinese, it is Tibetan tradition to fill your guest’s cup if it isn’t full. I couldn’t eat the Tsampa without drinking something, it’s so dry. Butter tea was the only beverage in here, so I kept sipping it and she kept filling it. By the end of the dinner, I didn’t mind it as much. I now realised what the noodle cups in the cupboard were for. To my surprise, my companions seemed to enjoy their meal.

It was freezing at night; we drank many cups of hot water to keep warm. We got in our sleeping bags and piled blankets on top.

We didn’t sleep much because of the altitude.

Next morning, we decided to climb up the mountain to get some better views. It was not an easy job, we could feel the altitude, we had to stop frequently to catch our breath. The mountain top was really windy, but the views were indescribable. The lake’s colour was a storybook crystal-clear blue and was back dropped by snow capped mountains. Nam-Tso is a blessing from nature.

We made our way back to the tent, it was time to eat again. This time we tried the one in the tin box shelter. They actually got a menu this time, but it’s no use to us, we couldn’t read! The owner took us to another room (kitchen I assumed) to show us bowls of vegetables; meats and rice. We had no idea how they would be cooked. To be safe, we pointed at some veggies and rice. The food was edible, but the tea was terrific– sweet milk tea, also known as cha ngamo, very similar to western tea.

After lunch, we packed our stuff and headed back to Lhasa.

On the way back to Lhasa, we stopped in Yangpachen Hot spring. As we approached the town, we could see steam covering the whole town, as if we were driving into the clouds. There are indoor and outdoor hot spring swimming pools but we were not brave enough to jump into the water.

We were looking forward to a hot shower and a good night sleep.