Yakut cuisine is unlike anything else in Russia. It is built on what survives in this climate — horse meat, reindeer, foal, freshwater fish from the Lena, fermented dairy, and very little in the way of vegetables. The signature dishes are stroganina (paper-thin slices of raw frozen fish), oyogos (boiled horse ribs), and kuerchekh (whipped cream with berries).
The best places to try these dishes are the dedicated Yakut restaurants in central Yakutsk — Tygyn Darkhan and Mahtal are the long-standing favourites — where the menu lists everything from grilled foal to reindeer dumplings. Russian and pan-Asian food is available too, but you have come a long way to eat a hamburger.