Yogurt served by a Tibetan princess
Print Edition
Herds of yaks graze in a village that overlooks Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. Every day, more than 200kg of yak milk produced there is sent to a bar near the Potala Palace to be fermented into yogurt.
Lhasa celebrated the Shoton Festival last week. Shoton means “feasting on yogurt” in the Tibetan language. Having a bowl of yogurt while taking a selfie in the most popular yogurt bar in Tibet has become the latest trend. Kelsang, the bar owner, said over 1,000 bowls of yogurt were sold every day during the festival. Kelsang was born into a noble family of Tibetan Buddhism in Xigaze and raised as a “princess.”
In 2007, the 19-year-old “princess” was sent to pay homage to sacred temples in Lhasa on behalf of her family. After the pilgrimage, instead of coming back to inherit her family’s business, she decided to stay. Soon she came across two tourists from Shanghai and Shenzhen, who wanted to open a small business in Lhasa. The pair agreed to invest money in a yogurt bar with Kelsang in charge of the operation.
Traditional Tibetan yogurt may taste too sour for non-Tibetans. But Kelsang modified her yogurt to make it sweeter for non Tibetans. And the prices have barely gone up.
“Many regular customers kindly reminded me to mark up our yogurt prices. But I’m reluctant. I’d rather have more customers come and enjoy my yogurt,” said Kelsang, who added over 1,000 customers had bought a pre-paid membership card.
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