The Mongolian Dinner

Welcome to the 10th installment of our Ethnic Dinner Series running since 1999. Interspersing our other events and activities, the Dinner Series is our culinary homage to the long and distinguished tradition of area studies at the School.

Modern Mongolia has ancient roots. With 22% of the Earth's total land area, the Mongol Empire, established under Genghis Khan, became the largest contiguous land empire in world history, stretching from Korea in the east and Siberia in the north to Ukraine in the west and Vietnam in the south. The subsequent history of the Mongolian nation is intimately intertwined with that of greater China. One of the successor states of the Mongol Empire comprised modern-day Mongolia and China known as the Yuan dynasty with Beijing as the seat of government. The Mongol Yuan were eventually driven from power by the Han Chinese Ming dynasty, and the Mongolian homeland was later absorbed by the Manchu Qing dynasty. In 1924, with critical support of the former Soviet Union, Mongolia declared independence from the Republic of China, establishing itself as a Soviet satellite state. With the anti-Communist revolutions in the last decade of the 20th century, Mongolia went through its own peaceful democratic change, leading to a transition to a market economy and the establishment of a multi-party system.

The extreme continental climate of the country and the nomadic way of life of its people has determined the Mongolian diet, with hoofed animals (the "5 Snouts": sheep, goat, yak, camel and horse) and diary products being staple menu items. Mongolian cuisine is also influenced by China and Russia due to close geographical proximity and deep historical ties. Truly authentic Mongolian dishes can only be enjoyed in Mongolia. In the West, including at the 3 Swiss restaurants, Mongolian-inspired cuisine is offered, more similar to teppanyaki, which you will greatly enjoy nonetheless. Come along.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #SLSEAAmongolia

As always with all of our activities and events, this event is open to all LSE alumnae and alumni.

Series History: 1999 Italy, 1999 Lebanon, 2000 Mexico, 2000 Japan, 2001 Morocco, 2002 Brazil, 2004 Iran, 2007 Ethiopia and 2015 Vietnam