Spring in Mongolia is a time where people will become physically and mentally exhausted – a time when you will just want to take life easy and enjoy the change in weather.

Enjoying a meal is often one of the best medications for this exhaustion, that is if you can find a healthy and delicious option of course. For Mongolians, meat (usually mutton) is one of the favorite foods, with hot soup often seen as the perfect relief for stress and strain. Indeed, this type of meal has been part of our daily lifestyle for generations.
What is also often forgotten is the vegetarian side of the traditional Mongolian diet, with Buddhist rituals saying that meat should not be eaten on Tuesdays. New vegetarian restaurant Luna Blanca aims to encourage this type of tradition, albeit with a menu that will surely satisfy meat-eaters.When it comes to dining out, often it’s preferable to avoid the chance of a ‘hit and miss’ meal and stick with what you know. People unfamiliar with all-vegetarian restaurants are likely to be happily surprised by Luna Blanca, while vegetarians will feel at home from the very first visit - which won’t be your last.

Part of Luna Blanca is a wonderful host who treats you as part of the family. Luna Blanca’s atmosphere was comfortable and vibrant with a photo series adorning the back wall. A lovely aroma will greet you as soon as you arrive. The restaurant’s waiters were hospitable and experienced, and had no problem communicating with customers in English either. The interior design was perhaps slightly stark, with the colors of walls, tables and covers different shades of green in line with vegetarian symbols. “Actually, the green color is kind of symbol or sing of vegetarian, so many organizations and restaurants use it to their everyday operations,” the manager said to the UB POST.
The menu has many healthy dishes that manage to be light in taste yet fully satisfying, including a selection of steamed dishes and others. While the menu had a lack of dish options, service was good and the food delicious.
It should be mentioned that if you are usually a carnivore, then I would recommend the main courses over the soups, as they include several pseudo-meat products – tofu perhaps best described as ‘disguised’ as chicken.
Mongolians, of course, do believe that soups are good for your health and hence I ordered the Luna Blanca Special soup. It had 25 tiny dumplings made of mushroom and other vegetables at Tg2.500.

For this price, the Luna Blanca special proved to be a satisfying main course for one, with smaller soups also available as a starter.My close friend (who guided me to this vegetarian restaurant) ordered Ariun Zoog or Holy Meal which contained vegetarian mutton chunks and was delicious. On the menu is a rich variety of Mongolian and international cuisine, particularly European. I especially liked that it is a 100 percent smoke and alcohol free environment. On the menu there was a beer, although alcohol-free. For dessert, there are smoothies, Mongolian berry drinks, hot chocolate and hot soymilk. The experience is aesthetically pleasing from start to finish and served in the nicest atmosphere of any restaurant. The restaurant’s ethos is to encourage respect for the environment, meditation, community service and the vegetarian lifestyles. For meat eaters, the sight of animals on the menu thanking you for going vegetarian clearly makes the choice not to eat meat preferable. There are about eight vegetarian restaurants in Ulaanbaatar, with Luna Blanca one of the biggest among them. Mostly American, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, European tourists frequent the restaurant.

The two month old restaurant includes an all-vegetarian staff, who contributed to ensure the dishes include some very special and unique recipes. The price is decent, particularly compared to some of the other restaurants frequented by foreigners, making the appeal of vegetarianism even higher. Luna Blanca is located to the west of Government House. It is near Golomt Bank, in front of Asashoryu Park next to the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs.

by Sh.Batmonkh
THE UB POST