Yak Cheese From Yunnan province

I had a taste of Yak cheese during my visit in the Shangrila County in Yunnan Province. It was good timing entering the first restaurant on my list where I met my first friend, Ricky, owner of the famous Tantra Restobar, who was having a taste test meeting with the Tibetan Yak cheese manufacturer.

Yak cheese is not yuck at all.

According to the primer, Yak Cheese was made from the milk of yaks raise on the hills of Shangrila. Yak cheese had three times higher in omega-3 fatty acids than the cheddar cheese made from milk of cows grain mix. Omega 3 helps make dopamine, which aids the nervous system in regulating mood, helping us stay attentive and alert, and feeling pleasure.

WebMD says that "yak cheese was also richer in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which has been shown to have "a range of positive health benefits" against cancer, body fat gain, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions."

On another evening, we celebrated Ricky's birthday with Chilean wine and Yak cheese - a good pairing.

Yak cheese doesn't taste very different from cheddar cheese. If anything, it is less salty. I contemplated on buying a block of cheese for my mom, but feared that customs may not allow me to carry it on board. Maybe in the long term after I've built my inter-galactic empire, I will have the means to bring it to the Philippines and have Filipinos experience it's taste.