Karakol is the best place in Kyrgyzstan to eat Dungan food — the cuisine of the Chinese Muslim community that settled here after fleeing China in the 1870s. Ashlyamfu, cold spicy noodles with a starch jelly and vinegar broth, is the town's signature dish. Dungan-style laghman — hand-pulled noodles in a thick lamb and vegetable sauce — is richer and more substantial here than the versions found in Bishkek. The Dungan quarter on the eastern side of town has the most concentrated cluster of small cafes and teahouses serving this food.