The small Dungan cafes clustered near the bazaar and in the eastern part of town serve ashlyamfu — a bowl of cold spicy noodles floating in a sour vinegar-and-chilli broth, with firm starch jelly cut into chunks and topped with a fried egg. It is a startling dish to encounter in a mountain town in Central Asia: cooling, tangy, and addictive, particularly welcome after a dusty morning at the animal market.
Most of the ashlyamfu cafes are simple operations run out of converted houses, with a handful of tables and menus written in Kyrgyz. The price is negligible and the portions are large. They open in the morning and typically sell out by early afternoon. To find the best spots, walk through the bazaar area and follow the locals — wherever you see a queue, that is where you want to be.