Yak Facts: TSAMPA CAKE!!! (pronounced Sahmpah)

In this edition of "Yak Facts" we'll be discussing the wonderful world of Tsampa Cake:

Hello All,
Happy Saint Patty's day and (this weekend) SPRING! Did everyone "spring forward" their clocks last weekend? We didn't. Ch1na doesn't participate in daylight savings. Weird, huh?

Anyway...to kick off this beautiful Spring season, we're offering this wonderful and *delicious Tsampa cake to the first person that comes to visit us here in Ch1na.



Thats right folks...from now until 2011 (cause, the cake will still be good by then) we are offering a traditional T.betan style cake for FREE.

What is a Tsampa Cake?? Well, we're glad you asked.

Tsampa usually comes in a bowl, consisting of barley flour, yak butter and hot yak milk tea. To eat it; you mix all the ingredients together to form a dough...and thats it. Start chomping away. A Tsampa CAKE is basically all these ingredients, formed into a shape and slathered with butter on top. In our case, they stuck some candies in there too. (And yes, that is about a 1/2 inch thick layer of butter on top. Not frosting)

Tsampa can either be good or bad. There is usually no middle ground. If the butter is fresh and the milk tea is made with fresh milk...you're good to go. Unfortunately, you will sometimes get rancid butter or milk, giving it a rather sour taste.

Sometimes you will be offered sugar to add to it. (At this point you start pr@ising the awesome L0rd above for his favor on you, because you can add as much sugar as you want.)

Sometimes you will be offered a crunchy cheese to add to it. (At this point, you should start asking for forgiveness, because you've OBVIOUSLY done something to deserve his wrath.)

Either way: when we are offered Tsampa at a N0mads home, we eat it with a huge smile on our face, because it was offered to you from a person that has next to nothing as far as fortune, and considers you a friend.

This particular Tsampa cake was given to Justin as a gift from the sweet orphans we work with. Luckily, it was given to him as he was leaving, thus not requiring him to eat it all right there in front of them (which is usually the case).

So...will you be OUR friend and come visit?? Free Tsampa Cake!!!!

* Subject to how good your taste buds work. The more dead your taste buds are, the better it will taste.