Kyrgyzstan is often praised for having exceptionional pasture-raised meat. Thanks to nomadic traditions and open-range grazing, local meat is widely viewed as natural and nutrient-dense.

Dishes in local cafés and restaurants are hearty and affordable. Meat lovers should try:

• Beshbarmak — thin homemade noodles with boiled meat (horse, lamb or beef) and onions in a rich broth.
• Shorpo — rich lamb soup with potatoes, onions and carrots.
• Kuurdak — pan-fried meat or liver with onions and potatoes, cooked in a kazan (cauldron).
• Lagman — hand-pulled noodles with meat and vegetables; served as a soup (suyuk lagman) or stir-fried (kuurulgan/boso lagman).
• Chuchuk — delicacy sausage made from horse meat.
• Tash-kordo — meat (often lamb) marinated with spices and baked on hot stones.

In major cities you’ll also find many international restaurants, so travelers can easily get familiar cuisines. The country’s multi-ethnic makeup shows in its food scene.

Fresh flatbreads (lepeshka) and pots of black/green tea are served everywhere. Popular dairy staples include kurut (dried yogurt balls), ayran, kumis (fermented mare’s milk) and chalap. Traditional grain ferments — bozo, maksym, jarma — taste a bit like kvass and are common in summer at street stalls and bazaars.

Tip: in the mountains, choose richer meat dishes for warmth and energy; in cities, try both styles of lagman to taste the difference.