Restaurants are relatively scarce and most tourists eat in their hotels.
National specialities:
• Meals are often buffet-style and mostly vegetarian.
• Cheese is a very popular ingredient in dishes and the most popular cheeses are datse (cow’s milk cheese), sometimes served in a dish with red chillies (emadatse), and yak cheese.
• Rice is ubiquitous, sometimes flavoured with saffron.
• The country is replete with apple orchards, rice paddies and asparagus, which grows freely in the countryside. There are also over 400 varieties of mushroom.
• Fat brown and rainbow trout swim amid the glacial waters of the Pa Chu River, but these will not be caught by Bhutanese Buddhists. However, recent restrictions on meat-eating have lapsed ever so slightly. Meat and fish are now imported from nearby India, and Nepali Hindus living in Bhutan are licensed to slaughter animals.
National drinks:
• The most popular drink is souza (Bhutanese tea).
Tipping: Not widely practised.

Markets are held regularly, generally on Saturday and Sunday, and are a rich source of local clothing and jewellery, as well as foodstuffs. The handicraft emporium on the main street in the capital is open daily except Sunday and offers a magnificent assortment of handwoven and handcrafted goods. The Motithang Hotel in Thimphu has a souvenir shop. Silversmiths and goldsmiths in the Thimphu Valley are able to make handcrafted articles to order. Shopping hours: Mon-Sun 0900-2000 (closed Tue).