About three hundred years ago, there was a restaurant at the southeastern corner of Barkor Street in ancient Lhasa. Once, on a moonlight and starlit night, a mysterious man came to this restaurant and met a pure and moonlike girl there. He was deeply impressed by her beauty and her expression. From then on, he often came to the restaurant hoping to meet the moonlike girl, but the girl did not appear there again.

The mysterious man was Tsangyang Gyatso, the sixth Dalai Lama (1683-1707). He was a prominent religious leader and a gifted romantic poet as well. The beautiful girl was Sgrolma, a goddess who lives in the hearts of the Tibetan people. The restaurant where Tsangyang Gyatso met the goddess is still on Barkor Street and is now named Makyame.

Makyame has opened a branch in Beijing for those who are fascinated by its romantic flavor but find it difficult to go as far as Tibet. The Beijing Makyame Restaurant stands among a row of restaurants and bars on South Xiushui Street, and it looks the same as its counterpart in Lhasa. The host, Chenang Wangqing, is a man from the eastern part of Tibet with little formal knowledge of catering.

Walking up the unadorned winding stairway into Makyame, the visitor will find something totally different from the outside world: an atmosphere of mystery and curiosity. On the yellow walls are Tibetan masks, a piece of ox hide with a design of the Four Protectors of Tibetan Buddha Dharma, some thang-ka paintings, a pair of long fahao trumpets made for use in religious rituals,and a giant prayer wheel. On the shiny black floor are a pile of sacred mani stones below the prayer wheel and some Tibetan yak-wool rugs.
Tibetan style of fitment.

On the dining tables in front of the windows are beautiful and practical pulu mats, made of Tibetan wool. On one side of the room is a glittering bar for serving drinks, handmade of wood with exquisite carving. It shows the luxury, elegance, and delicacy of Tibetan culture and harmonizes with the atmosphere of simplicity and richness. On a shelf are books and albums in various languages about philosophy and Tibetan literature.

The Tibetan chefs offer you their native cuisine in more than a hundred specialties such as grassland roasted mutton chop, bala-bani (noble vegetable soup), tsachitele ("auspicious"), zhuoma-zhesi (dessert), yak yogurt, buttered tea, and genuine qingke-barley wine. The qingke-barley wine, masheng (dessert), tsoma (the long tuberous roots of a Tibetan plant, used for food) and Tibetan seasonings are all brought from Tibet.

In this atmosphere of classic elegance, you can sit beside a window, and choose from a wide selection: not only Tibetan specialties but also Indian and Nepalese food and Western dishes, snacks, and wines. The willow trees outside, like a natural protective screen, cut off the hustle and bustle of the street. As visitors enter into Makyame, they feel as if they had just arrived on Barkor Street. Makyame is like a posthouse in the desert, giving visitors a place to indulge themselves.