Jampa Deleg has traveled far in both distance and experience from Potala, a fortress in his hometown of Lhasa, Tibet, to Potala, a new restaurant at 574 Main St. in Middletown.

Deleg left Lhasa , when he was in middle school, with thousands of other Tibetans, when the oppression of the Chinese government became too much to bear, he said.

For years, he was a Buddhist monk. “I liked being a monk, but it is very hard,” he said. In the U.S., he worked as a chauffeur, and was driving a limo on the Brooklyn Bridge when the plane hit the first tower on Sept. 11, 2001. For a time, he was a sushi chef in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He sold jewelry made from Tibetan coral and at one time was a card dealer at Foxwoods. “When people lost, I would see their faces. They were so sad. I didn’t like that job,” he said.

A few months ago, when he heard that Tibetan Kitchen was leaving its Middletown location to relocate, his cooking career and his Tibetan heritage merged. He and co-owners Tsering Sangmo and Dawa Dolma, all of Tibetan heritage, seized the opportunity and opened Potala in the same location on July 25.

Deleg, who is both part owner and cook at the restaurant, Sangmo and Dolma kept much of the decor — dark red walls, yellow upholstery, a mural of a Tibetan street — as the previous owners left it. But they added their own touches: a portrait of the Dalai Lama, a bas-relief of Buddha, a stringed instrument called a tungna, a monastery gong, posters from two movies made in Tibet.

Now, instead of seeing the sad faces of unsuccessful gamblers, Deleg, Sangmo and Dolma see the happy faces of those who come in to sample their simple, spicy creations that Deleg learned from traditional recipes by trial-and-error. “It’s like being a monk, learning, memorizing,” Deleg said. “I ate everywhere trying to learn and learn.”

Among the dishes served at Potala Tibetan Restaurant in Middletown are, clockwise from top left, sha-baklep beef patties, mango lassi, a variety of teas, spring rolls and spicy tofu Khatsa, a mixture of tofu and ground beef. (Susan Dunne)

The recipes have much in common with other Asian cuisines, with interesting variations. Spring rolls ($7.99) are encased in a transparent rice-based wrapper and served with a surprisingly spicy dipping sauce. The only fried dish on the menu, sha-baklep ($14.99), are crispy little pockets of bread stuffed with seasoned meat and served with a spicy, red sauce. Spicy tofu khatsa ($16.99) mixes ground beef and extra-firm tofu.

Other appetizers include steamed bun ($2.99), cucumber salad ($5.99), edamame ($7.99), skewered chicken, veggie fried rice, sauteed spinach, avocado salad, garden salad, cold spinach with sesame seeds, chicken salad and Kani salad with imitation crab meat ($13.99) and vegetable or beef momo dumplings, tofu-tsel and mixed vegetables ($14.99). Also for $13.99 is shogo sip-sip, a shredded-potato dish, and shogo khatsa, which are Himalayan seasoned potatoes.

Soups include lentil ($6.99), vegetable or chicken ($7.99), noodle soups thenthuk and Lhasa thukpa, both served with vegetable, beef or chicken ($13.99) and Mok-thuk, with dumplings and vegetables ($14.99).

Other entrees include phaksha dangmo and thukpa dangmo, a sauteed beef or pork dish with bell peppers; thukpa ngokma, a sauteed noodle dish with beef, chicken or vegetables; and phing-sha, a mixture of beef and mung bean vermicelli ($14.99). For $16.99, entree selections are pork ribs, sauteed beef with green chili and sauteed pork with bell peppers. Shaptak, a dish of fried sliced beef with onion, tomatoes and peppers, is $17.99.

On the higher end, salmon with vegetables (Nyasha ngoma) is $24.99 and lamb chops are market price.

Desserts, for $3.95, are gulab jamun and ice cream. Beverages include a variety of teas and soft drinks, as well as lassis and smoothies.

Potala Tibetan Restaurant, at 574 Main St. in Middletown, is open Monday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. potalatibetanrestaurant.com.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.