Momo are steamed or fried dumplings filled with yak meat and onion, a Tibetan staple that appears on virtually every restaurant menu in Xiahe. They are served with a dipping sauce of chilli and vinegar and are one of the most satisfying things you can eat at altitude — substantial enough to keep you going through a cold morning on the kora without being heavy.
The small restaurants along the main street, most of them with hand-painted signs and a few plastic tables, produce perfectly good momo for very little money. Ask for steamed (zhu) rather than fried if you want the filling to stay juicy. Tsampa — roasted barley flour mixed with yak butter tea into a dense paste — is the other Tibetan staple worth trying, though most visitors find it an acquired taste.