Tibetan Cuisine

Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta Georgia

This past Saturday was the grand opening of the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta. The monastery is the North American seat of the Tibetan and Indian monasteries, and started humbly in the 1990's with meetings at members' houses, and then at a small space in a strip mall. So to finally have an official building is quite an accomplishment and a long time coming.

The grand opening featured the excellent house band, a tour of the facility, a display of Tibetan dolls, and Tibetan calligraphy. Some of us bravely participated in traditional Tibetan folk dance, which made the monks watching laugh because we were all quite inept.


Monastery house band performing at the festival









Lunch was cooked by the monks and consisted of rice, cucumber, hot sauce, tea, and dumplings called momos.



Shabhakleb, a Tibetan dumpling made from beef, onion, celery, and flour. This was also called a momo.

Bhakleb, a vegetarian Tibetan dumpling made from potato, mushroom, and cheese.

Tibetan Sorig, which is a medicinal tea.

Meditation cushions used as seats for those wanting to watch the band

The dining tent was decorated with colorful Tibetan designs

Tibetan Dolls

The Loseling Dolls and Traditional Costumes of the Tibetan World
Visual Arts Gallery, Emory University - 700 Peavine Creek Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322

This week Emory University in Atlanta has a collection of Tibetan dolls on display that were created by the master dollmakers of Drepung Loseling Monastery. They depict scenes of life in Tibet and various regional costumes, and are part of the ongoing attempt to keep the culture of Tibet alive. Of course, they are much more interesting in person than as captured on my poor quality camera phone.

The exhibit runs through Saturday the 25th and is part of Tibet week at Emory.