When touring in Shigatse, its local dishes are a must to try. They are including high-land barley wine and yak butter, beef and mutton, tongue of yak that served cold and dressed with sauce, tsampa, various kinds of cookies and sweat tea, milk tea, yoghurt, roasted sausage, Air-dried meat. In Tibet, butter, tea, tsamba, and air-dried meat are known as four treasures of Tibetan food.

For Tibetans, tea is very important. Tea in Tibet comes in many varieties, including the main kinds of buttered, sweet, and clear tea. The most common Tibetan teas are yak butter tea and sweet tea. They are the traditional drinks in Tibet. Yak butter tea is made of Tibetan butter, tea and salt. First, you pour the boiled tea into a bucket; then add the butter and salt and keep churning to mix them properly. The tea is then ready. It has a strong smell of milk, and tastes quite special, with a salt and sweet flavor. 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. Air-dried meat is a special kind of food in Tibet. Tibetans hang pieces of meat in a shady and cool place at the end of the year, to let them air-dry naturally. On February or March of the next year, the meat pieces can be eaten.

Besides the above mentioned, there are other daily foods which are famous. Barley wine is made of highland barley, which is the favorite of Tibetan, especially in festivals. The barley wine appears light yellow, taste mild and slightly sweet and sour, and contains little alcohol. Beef and mutton are the main foods of Tibetans. Tibetans like to eat beef and mutton because meat can provide enough energy to withstand coldness in the high elevation areas. Usually Tibetans boil beef and mutton with salt, ginger and spices. They take the meat in hands and cut them with their knives. Some Tibetans like to eat dried beef and mutton. In the winter, Tibetans cut beef and mutton into long stripes and hung in shaded place. The dried meat is crisp and tastes good.

Recommended restaurants:

Yinlong Chinese Food Town
Address: No. 23, Shanghai Road (Middle), Shigatse City

Shigatse Hotel
Address: No.13, Jiefang Road (Middle), Shigatse City

Guo Ji Rou
Address: No.14, Qomolangma Road, Shigatse City

Samzhubze Hotel
Address: No.2, Gonjolin Road, Shigatse City

Jinzuo Reataurant
Address: No.28, Gesanglakang, Shigatse City

Special Touring Regions: