When Yeshi first told his brother Nyima that he was dating an Englishwoman, he replied that it would never work. “She won’t be able to eat your food,” he said.
Now Nyima doesn’t know much about dating – he’s been a monk his whole adult life – but he ought to know about food.
Once upon a time, Nyima was the head chef at his monastery in south India, responsible for providing three meals a day to over 5,000 monks.
Today, it’s been nearly twenty years since he left India. In that time he has lived in the US and the UK, so by now he’s fully aware of how favourably his cuisine compares.
Yeshi and I have faced many barriers in our relationship, but it won’t surprise you to learn that food was never one of them. Perversely, Yeshi has found it difficult to adapt to my food culture, something we never considered when I was busy laughing off Nyima’s early warnings.
Many of you will have enjoyed a roast dinner of some description over the weekend. Yeshi had never used an oven before he moved to the UK. He does like to dabble, but baked birds are rarely his dinner of choice.
Back home in Tibet, daily fare consists of soups and stews. No meal is complete without a steaming bowl of broth on the table, even if that’s just the ubiquitous butter tea.
When Yeshi cooks for our family, more often than not it’s soup noodles or something else soupy. If he’s making momos, they’re always accompanied by a broth he’s whipped up from the boiling water over which the dumplings have steamed.
Tibetan people swear by soup with their meal: they say that it helps to reduce bloating. And it’s true that Yeshi often complains of feeling “heavy” after a Sunday roast or similar. If he doesn’t have something hot to slurp, he can struggle.
Are you still digesting your Easter lunch? If so, here’s a tip you might want to try next time. You don’t need to go cooking up a broth to go with, but try drinking something hot alongside your meal, even if it’s just warm water. Tibetans say that cold drinks force the body to pause digestion while it brings itself back to temperature. Warm water helps us to keep natural processes flowing.
We have a broad selection of teas at the restaurant, and we always recommend our home-made chai with your meal. This isn’t butter tea, but rather our take on the popular brew of the Lhasa teahouses where Tibetans from all over the region convene at long sharing tables and sup sweet, milky tea over momos and more.
Our restaurant is an attempt to recreate the feels of these Lhasa rest stops. If you love our chai, now you understand why it’s the perfect mate, and what inspires us.
We’re offering our newsletter subscribers a free chai this week with any meal purchase. Not yet signed up? Click here for weekly news and discounts.
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Saturday: 12-3/ 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3 / 5-9pm
This week’s menu is up on the website – check it. Come for dine in, take away and a restock of your freezer. We also have plenty of chilli oil and cookbooks.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm
Saturday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
Sunday: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9pm
☏ 01865 499318
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