First meal in Ulaanbaatar, and it turned out to be Italian. It seemed that locals prefer to dine in a foreign restaurant (the top two restaurants in ULN are Indian and Italian respectively) than the local cuisine. So I went with the flow.
This was a welcome dinner hosted by my Mongolian business partners. So I would not object since they chose the latest and greatest restaurant in town – Il Fiore at the top floor of the newest and tallest building in downtown Ulaanbaatar.
And when in Ulaanbaatar, one must try the Chinggis beer. Very refreshing and the Mongols drink them like water.
Grilled Bone Marrow
When the prawns appeared together with the bone marrow, I already made up my mind tonight will be just another business meal. But the bone marrow was grilled to perfection and the bone was quite big. Just ignore the prawns, the bone marrow went great with the bread.
No Idea What This Is
Seriously, this was not on the menu. I tried to order a gnocchi, but it turned out to be something which looked really unappetising. I left it alone.
Bruschetta
This turned out fine, except for the addition of onions in the bruschetta, a first for me. And there was no fresh basil.
Risotto al Funghi
Another carb dish, which I was adamant that evening to wean off the carbs.
Caprese
Again, there was no fresh basil, and this was the most important ingredient in a caprese salad.
Seafood Platter
The French fries were delicious, even though I said I was trying to skip carbs for the evening. In the end, I was munching through them. Wasn’t crazy about the fried calamari, grilled salmon or the pan fried white fish (was it barramundi?). The nearest sea was thousand of miles away.
OK, just a simple salad of tomatoes and cucumbers and dressed with a simple olive oil, salt and pepper. Seriously not something that you would expect from a fine dining Italian restaurant, until you realised that these vegetables are pretty rare in Mongolia.
Another dish that I did not touch, but all those that did said it was really good.
Grilled T-bone Steak
The steak turned up to be the winner for the evening. Cows were raised for their meat, not so much for the milk. And all beef in Mongolia are organic and free-range grass-fed. So the meat was really of a very high quality.
The T-bone gives you two cuts in one steak. And the T-bone was 1.5kg, there was plenty of meat to go around. If you are not into lean and meaty beef, you would not have enjoyed it. But I love a proper piece of beef, so it was really beefy and delicious.
In the end, the host had ordered two T-bones instead of one. So there was really a lot of meat to go around.
Not something that I would jump off the plane go straight to.But if you want some really good pizzas and competent steaks with a bird’s eye view of Ulaanbaatar, this is the place.
Il Fiore Italian Restaurant
EITOWER, 25th floor, Sukhbaatar District 14250 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Tel : +976 7012 0122
Visited May 2023
@ilfioreub #ilfioreub #ilfiore #mongolia #ulaanbaatar
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