Enjoy authentic Tibetan cuisine in the middle of New York City!
Introduction
The Tibetan region is oftentimes referred to as the “Himalayan” area, because of its mountainous geography along the Himalayan mountains. With high elevation and big gaps in the daily temperature, Tibetan soils are a tough place for vegetables to grow in general, other than hardy greens or root vegetables. To reflect this special geographical limits, Tibetan cuisine oftentimes focuses on livestock meat, their dairy products, and barley. Yaks, one of the most common and well-known livestock in Tibet, are often times milked for cheese and butter or eaten in its meat forms–as jerky or dishes such as dumplings, noodle dishes, or soups. Barley is often milled to flour form, and it is an important ingredient for their bread and noodle dishes. In addition to these main ingredients, they add spices such as turmeric, cumin, and black pepper to add flavor to their dishes.
Some of the important etiquettes to keep in mind while you eat Tibetan cuisine are how their behaviors reflect the principles of Tibetan Buddhism. Often times in most places in Tibet (including restaurants or homes), guests are given a white silk scarf that symbolizes joy for their visit. Although guests might be provided with food or tea immediately upon entering, similar to most other Asian cultures, it is more polite for the guests to politely decline the host’s offer, even if that means that he or she will keep serving the guests regardless of what they’ve expressed.
Some of the most popular dishes that you will encounter at most Tibetan restaurants or homes are the following:
Momo is a popular Tibetan dumpling dish that comes in a steamed or pan-fried form. The dish in Tibet actually consisted of yak meat because of its abundance. However, as momo started to catch on popularity all around the world, beef was commonly used to appeal to more people abroad. One thing to note is that some people consider the closed-form of momo a bad fortune during the Tibetan New Year because it seems like it is holding in the generosity and happiness for the upcoming year instead of spreading it to everyone.
Gyurma is a blood sausage in Tibet, conventionally made with yak’s blood. Tibetans sometimes use barley flour or rice to mix with it and fill up the yak casing. Because of the abundance of yaks, Tibetans even used their blood as part of their common cuisine.
Restaurants
Click on the different photos to see more details about a restaurant or just simply scroll through the page to learn about all the details of the restaurants provided below.
Cafe Himalaya 
Punda Tibetan Restaurant 
Cafe Tibet 
Himalayan Yak
Cafe Himalaya
Cafe Himalaya is a Tibetan/Nepalese restaurant located in the Lower East Side of NYC. They serve simple, delicious, homemade food from the Himalayas. Cafe Himalaya takes pride in making food that is natural, nutritious and healthy without any preservatives.
Popular Dishes
Chilled Dofu
Spicy tofu sauteed with onions, ginger, garlic, bell peppers, tomato, scallion and cilantro. Served with basmati rice. Vegetarian.
Sha Momo (8pcs)
A traditional Tibetan dish, steamed or pan-fried dumplings stuffed with beef and herbs served with salad.
Shapta
A traditional Tibetan spicy beef dish sauteed with ginger, garlic, onion and bell peppers served with basmati rice or paratha.
Check out their website, Yelp page, and Google Reviews
Punda Tibetan Restaurant
Punda Tibetan Restaurant is a casual Indo-Tibetan restaurant with traditional Tibetan and Indian food, opened by the previous owners of Gangjong Kitchen.
Popular Dishes
Momo
A type of dumpling that’s traditional to Tibet, stuffed with a mix of minced onion, coriander and a choice of beef, chicken, vegetable.
Shabtak
Spicy dish with sliced beef which is sauteed in fresh onion, tomato and green chilli.
Chicken Lollipop
Marinated chicken wings, deep-fried and served on julienne of vegetables.
Check out their website, Yelp page, and Google Reviews
Cafe Tibet
Café Tibet is a go-to for takeout. It is home to the famous juicy momo (Tibetan soup dumplings), sha-baklap (pastry-wrapped beef patties), and a sour-sweet chili chicken stir-fry—plus a handsome little hidden patio.
Popular Dishes
Sha-baklap
Traditional tibetan beef patties. minced with beef, fresh ginger, garlic, onion and a touch of spices, stuffed and pan-fried in freshly kneaded dough.
Chili Chicken
Battered crispy chicken breast, stir fried with onion, tomato, red and green pepper, spinach, with ginger and garlic.
Beef Momo
Crescent-shaped minced beef dumpling mixed with onion, coriander, ginger and garlic, flavored with spices.
Check out their Yelp page and Google Reviews
Himalayan Yak
Himalayan Yak offers a truly authentic dining experience with their diverse menu of Tibetan, Nepali, Bhutanese, and Indian foods. It was the first Nepali restaurant in New York and are one of the oldest running Himalayan fusion restaurants in the city.
Popular Dishes
Chicken Lollipop
Mildly deep fried chicken drumstick marinated with ginger, chicken broth garlic, eggs and spices.
Momo
A favorite national dish of Tibet, in a form of dumplings.
Gyuma
Homemade tibetan style sausage filled with beef blood and ground beef “a himalayan yak specialty.”
Check out their website, Yelp page, and Google Reviews
Tibet in NYC 