Meat is the basis of the diet, primarily beef and mutton. The local cooking is quite distinctive.

Things to know: Hot and cold beverages are not normally included in meals and many restaurants will add on a 13% sales tax.

National specialities:
• 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.
 
National drinks:
• Mongolian tea (suutei tsai), meaning salty tea with milk, is very popular.
• Mongolian vodka is excellent, as is the beer (although it is expensive).

Tipping: Not customary, but this is changing and, if leaving a tip, 10% is the norm.

There are evening performances at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, State Drama Theatre and Puppet Theatre. The Folk Song and Dance Ensemble and People’s Army Song and Dance Ensemble are in the capital. Other major towns also have theatres. Circus entertainment is also very popular. There is also a cinema featuring English-language films, and large numbers of bars, nightclubs and restaurants that offer dancing or live entertainment (bands).

In Ulaanbaatar, there are a few duty-free shops and restaurants where convertible currencies are accepted. In all other shops, local currency must be used. The best buys include pictures, cashmere garments, camel-wool blankets, national costumes, boots, jewellery, carpets, books and handicrafts. The notorious black market on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar is a large, crowded flea market which sells a huge variety of items. Suitable for the adventurous traveller, it is patronised mainly by local people. Pickpockets can be a problem.

Shopping hours: Mon-Sun 1000-1800 as a general guide although times and days vary considerably.