During the years that I was living in China there were certain British staples I would always stash into my bags on visits home. Top of the list was tea. Obviously you can find all kinds of delicious infusions in China, but English breakfast was hard to come by. So too was milk (harder to pack!).
When I was learning Chinese in Qingdao in the 1990s, local farmers got wind of the need of certain foreign students for fresh milk, and used to drop off small bottles outside the door to our building. The milk wasn’t pasteurised and upset our stomachs, but we kept ordering it because powdered milk was our only alternative. This was easy to find: it was sold as a health product, usually for babies and older people.
In this respect, the food of Tibet and China couldn’t be more different. Historically, dairy has featured little in Chinese cuisine. In Tibet, it lies at the heart of the diet. Yak milk and its products are daily fare for Tibetans, providing vital sources of vitamins and nutrition in areas where fruit and vegetables are scarce.
Yeshi knows his dairy, and when he first came to the UK he found it absurd and also outrageous that skimmed and semi-skimmed milk (products that he’d not come across before) were sold at the same price as their full-fat alternative. The makers, he pointed out, had removed the fat to make other items in the supermarket fridge: butter, cream, cheese. The shops were having a laugh!
When we left Tibet last year after a two-week visit we filled our bags with supplies of Tibetan peppercorns, dried mushrooms and other ingredients that are difficult or impossible to find in the UK. Yeshi’s family tried to send him home with a huge slab of yak butter too, but dairy is one of those things you’re not allowed to bring in, apparently.
Yeshi and Nyima are off to Tibet again at the end of the month and this time I won’t be there to vet what food makes it into the suitcase home. Let’s hope they make it back as planned over Easter.
You’ve got two weeks to stock up on TT. The restaurant closes on 23rd March for exactly one month: more on that next week. In the meantime, make sure you come by and raid the freezers, and the moment for a momo party is now!
We’re open all the usual hours this week, as follows:
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. Stop by for take-away, dine-in or you can order home delivery through Deliveroo.
Our freezers still have good stocks of all the nutritious meals you don’t have time to make yourselves – come have a forage. We also have plenty of sepen chilli oil and house pickle.
Finally, if you’re in the market for TT discounts and freebies just subscribe to our weekly Substack to receive news and offers direct to your inbox.
Looking forward to seeing you all 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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