Tibetan Noodles (Thukpa)

Tibetan noodles (thukpa) are the most common breakfast and quick meal in Lhasa: hand-pressed alkaline noodles served in yak-beef or plain broth with radish, cabbage and thin slices of yak meat—plain and fortifying.

Noodle-making traditions are found across Tibet, with Lhasa as their urban centre; contact with mainland Chinese noodle culture shaped a distinctly Tibetan noodle style that differs from Chinese varieties and serves as the everyday high-altitude staple.

A morning bowl of Tibetan noodles with a cup of sweet tea is the quintessential Lhasa breakfast; the noodles are springy and smooth, the broth clear and lightly savory, sometimes lifted with a spoonful of chilli oil.

The alkaline-pressed noodles are thin and pleasantly chewy; the yak-broth carries a gentle grassy tang; eaten with sweet tea, it is the most common meal in Lhasa.