Food and drink in Tibet are very much related to the climate, local products, religion and folk customs. Local cuisine favorites include tsampa (a staple made from barley flour), which has fed countless generations of Tibetans in the challenging climate of the plateau. Milk products of all kinds are important: yak butter is valued as food and has religious significance as well, and is the distinctive ingredient in yak butter tea. The dry'cold air of the plateau has long provided a solution to the problem of meat storage: dried beef and mutton is still commonly seen on sale in Lhasa. Another way of storing meat protein is the sausage, and Tibetans specialize in a kind of blood sausage which is a distant relative of the Scottish haggis!

In recent years, the quality and selection of restaurants in Lhasa has vastly improved, but the result is that Chinese restaurants abound, and it is a little harder than it once was to find good local cuisine restaurants. There are still plenty around, however, if you know where to look. The Snow-Deity Palace Tibetan Style Restaurant and the Tashi Restaurant are two favorites. Among the Chinese restaurants the most common cooking styles are Sichuan and Cantonese

Of note in Lhasa, are Buddhist vegetarian restaurants (such as the Holy Land restaurant), which cater to diners who prefer to avoid meat. They often prepare vegetarian versions of typical Chinese and Tibetan dishes, such as gong bao ji ding, using tofu instead of chicken, for example. The food in these vegetarian restaurants is hearty and satisfying, reasonably priced, and even meat eaters will leave feeling deliciously sated.

Tibetan snacks include momos: these dumplings are a perennial favorite and are often also on restaurant menus. A good place for street snacks is the Tianhai Night Market.

A final note of caution: travelers should note that because of the high altitude and low air pressure in Tibet, alcoholic drinks have a much stronger effect than in lower regions of the world. Beware the baijiu lunch in Lhasa!

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