Skip to content
A little preparation. A much better adventure.Independent travel advice · Made for China
Save your trip
Menu
Book your trip

A taste of Lhasa

Old Guangming Gangqiong Sweet Tea House

老光明岗琼甜茶馆

A cavernous local tea hall where Lhasa residents drink sweet tea by the glass over Tibetan noodles and yak dumplings.

About ¥9 per person≈ US$1.34Local institutionNear Beijing Road, Chengguan
Plan your meal Open map

Why come here

A place worth making time for

No. 7 on Ctrip's Lhasa must-visit food list, rated 4.6, for its sweet tea

The house favourites

What to order

Point at the Chinese. Staff will understand it even where the menu has no English at all.

  • Sweet tea by the glass (甜茶)
  • Tibetan noodles (藏面)
  • Yak meat momos (牦牛肉包子)
  • Fried dough snacks (藏式油炸面点)

What it actually tastes like

Sweet tea is black tea with milk and a lot of sugar — closer to masala chai than to butter tea, and much easier for a first-timer. The system is unusual: you sit down, leave coins on the table, and a man with a kettle keeps refilling your glass and taking the money as he goes. Tibetan noodles are short, chewy and served in a thin yak broth that tastes under-seasoned by Chinese standards.

Allergens in this kitchen

dairygluten/wheatsoy

This is the kitchen, not one dish. Woks, fryers, blanching water and utensils are shared in almost every Chinese restaurant, so for a serious allergy treat the whole premises as the unit rather than ordering around it.

Get to know the menu

Local specialities to try here

Tibetan Noodles 藏面Mild, clean and gently meaty — almost under-seasoned by Chinese standards, so you add chilli and vinegar yourself.Sweet Milk Tea 甜茶Sweet, creamy and comforting — essentially a good Indian-style chai without the spice.