Meat is the basis of the diet, primarily beef and mutton. The local cooking is quite distinctive. Traditional meals generally consist of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour with either rice or dairy products. One local speciality is Boodog; this is the whole carcass of a goat roasted from the inside - the entrails and bones are taken out through the throat, the carcass is filled with burning hot stones and the neck tied tightly, and thus the goat is cooked from the inside to the outside. Fish is also beginning to be widely available.

Mongolian tea (suutei tsai), meaning salty tea with milk, is very popular. Mongolian vodka is excellent, as is the beer. Hot and cold beverages are not normally included in meals and many restaurants will add on a 10- 15 % VAT.

Despite what you might hear about food supplies in Mongolia, it's now very simple to have a balanced diet, even if you're a vegetarian. If you're intending to eat out in Ulaanbaatar, there are a large number of restaurants serving quality, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Italian, English, French, Russian, Latin American and of course Mongolian cuisines. There are also a lot of supermarkets and markets selling both Mongolian and imported goods from China, Russia, East Asia and Europe.

The domestic meat and dairy products are good value and considerably tastier than meat you may find at home. The one used by most of the expatriates living in the country is the Mercury Market situated just a couple of hundred meters west of the Circus. In the countryside things are a bit different. Although some of the larger Aimag centers will have supplies suitable for foreigners, the Sums will have little more than biscuits and chocolate. As you move out of the city, you also lose the quality in restaurant food. In most cases only Mongolian-style food will be available.

The extreme climate here means that many Mongolians, especially those living in the countryside have to eat a lot of protein and fat to keep themselves warm and healthy. Visiting herders in the countryside will inevitably mean that you will be offered a number of meat and dairy products. Even if some of them look unappetizing, you will please your host greatly if only you try a little.