Firstly, food service spots in UB will have to be categorised into small Mongolian food joints and bigger restaurants. Since the first type is very simple and self-explanatory, let’s take a journey to take a closer look at the larger upper middle & high-class restaurants.
MONGOLIAN RESTAURANTS.
The best restaurants that serve excellent Mongolian traditional food are Modern Nomads, Altai Mongolian Grill Barbecue, Mongolians, BD’s Mongolian Barbeque, Khureetuv, Ikh Mongol, Khanddorj Restaurant (located at Khanddorj’s Palace, the aristocrat and prominent early 20th-century Mongolian independence leader).
INSIGHT ON MONGOLIAN FOOD.
In case you, dear reader, don’t have an imagination of what Mongolian traditional meals might be, the most common ones are mutton stew, dumplings (bansh), steamed dumpling (buuz), pastry (khuushuur) fried in vegetable oil. Also, sheep head is offered to one of the most respected guests. In fact, it is considered a “delicacy” in our menu. Mongolian food usually contains a plentiful of meat, fat and dairy products due to the country’s severe climate. Thus, what Mongolians consume must sufficiently provide the required macronutrients (but mostly protein and fat) to lead a prosperous and healthy lifestyle.
MONGOLIAN DESSERTS.
Mongolian desserts are not as sweet as in other countries, they are mostly sweet and sour (made from cow, horse and goat milk). Even though most international visitors who try “aaruul” or dried curd have mixed feelings about it. Locals love a well-made aaruul.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD.
Ulaanbaatar, like any other big city, is filled up with restaurants serving national food of various countries: Korean (extremely popular among Mongolians, therefore there are a lot of them here), Chinese (Dragon restaurant at Flower Hotel), Japanese (e.g. Nagomi, Miko, Oishii, Yamato Dining, Sekitei), Mexican (e.g. MexiKhan, Cumino Taco), Indian (e.g. Delhi Darbar, Mughul, Hazara, Namaste), Italian (e.g. Veranda, Rosewood Kitchen, Felicita, La Viva) and so forth. In addition to these ones, there are the classic Western restaurants like Broadway, Los Angeles Lounge, Bluefin Cuisine D’Art (they serve fantastic steaks), Hard Rock Café. Also, for those who fancy fast food,KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut had recently opened their branches in the city.
So, whether you’re craving a good old pizza or want to try the most exotic dishes in this country that has a marvelously wide range of food to offer, you must have no worries either way. Let’s go grab a sheep’s head … or maybe dumplings.
