Tibet Om Cafe in Bodh Gaya
For me, food has always been the best part about travelling. Of course the sight-seeing matters, but for me food always trumps all aspects of traveling. So this time when I went to Bodh Gaya, a popular tourist destination in Bihar, I thought of trying a cuisine that I had never tried before and it led me to Tibet Om Cafe.
Bodh Gaya gets a lot of tourists from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and other countries which means, you can find several restaurants in this town, offering cuisines other than North Indian, Chinese or Mughlai. You can easily find a place that serves Thai, Tibetan, Italian, Japanese and Korean food in Bodh Gaya.
Before travelling, I had looked up on Google and saw various recommendations for Tibet Om Cafe and let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. From delicious Thenthuk, Thupkas, Tingmo and momos to Tibetan cookies, glass noodles and rice dishes, I’d definitely recommend this cozy cafe to you if you are someone who is up for trying delicious, vegetarian food.
Can I say I am a fan of Tibetan food now? YES! So much so that I went there everyday for lunch and dinner (breakfast I had at the hotel as it was complimentary). The food was excellent, the ambience was intimate and the rates were very reasonable. Here are some of the dishes that I tried at the cafe:
Their vegetarian momos will just melt in your mouth and you will get a burst of flavours the moment you bite into them. Thenthuk is a Tibetan-style noodle soup, just the kind of aromatic, soul-food you would want to have for after a tiring day of sight-seeing. It had veggies and whole-wheat noodles and the broth was light and delicious.
I tried one of their breakfast dishes and loved it, especially because of the Tibetan bread (Tingmo) they served. Tingmos are steamed breads or buns, extremely soft and yummy. These had no fillings but in some restaurants you can find Tingmo with chicken or beef filling. This combination may look weird to many but trust me, it was one of the best breakfast combinations I’ve tried.
Imagine dipping a piece of soft Tingmo into a flavourful, hot potato curry with glass noodles and sipping on some Tibetan butter tea- heavenly! I also tried their plain Tibetan bread (20 INR), brown in colour but didn’t like it as much as the white Tingmo.
On my last day, I tried Omurice, a famous Japanese dish along with Miso soup. I personally didn’t like Miso soup but loved Omurice, a Japanese omelette rice made with ketchup. The flavours were defined, perfect for a light and heart-warming dinner. For dessert, I had their apple pie and loved that too.
They have a shop inside the cafe from where you can buy Tibetan souvenirs, clothing, food items, incense sticks, oils and many other things. I bought Tibetan cookies for home
It is definitely a warm and lovely cafe to stop by once you are done sight-seeing for the day. Since people from different countries come and dine at the cafe, you also get a chance to interact with them and exchange stories. So the next time you are in Bodh Gaya, don’t forget to visit Tibet Om Cafe and also let me know how you liked it
They serve only vegetarian Tibetan food. The cafe is open all days of the week from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM and is located inside the famous Namgyal Monastery.
There’s another quaint cafe that I explored in Bodh Gaya. Will write a blog about that too pretty soon.
Much love
Sonam