Mongolian Grill :-)

I had my first encounter with Mongolian Grilled Food while I was on a business visit to Fargo, ND. Hu Hot looked and seemed quite strange to me when I got in but the flavour and taste of the Mongolian Grill was so good that I ended up eating 2 meals instead of one!

The reason why I went back to 2006 August (when I went into Hu Hot) was due to the second encounter that I had with Mongolian food at Halifax. At the outset, let me tell you that the food was not as good as what it was first time (Probably having good eating partners also helps. B and S enjoy food but not the company that I had this time!).

The very concept of Mongolian Grill is very simple and unique- you will have 3 counters- one for veggies, one for meat and fish and a third one for noodles, rice, oils and sauces. You will be given a bowl to pick your stuff. You can go to the counters and fill up your bowl with whatever you need. You will be billed based on the weight of your bowl and the entire contents of your bowl is emptied on a huge circular Tava (Hot Plate in English, I suppose). The cook mixes the contents of your bowl well and it is cooked in the oils and sauces you selected. The food is then provided to you steaming hot!

Now, here is the catch! You should know what goes with what and what are the ingredients of the various sauces and oils. Being the Vegetarian that I am, I tried my luck with all kinds of veggies first- Broccoli, Beans, Carrot, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Spring Onion, Green Pepper, Hot Pepper, Cauli Flower, Black Olives, Pineapple, Mushroom and Alfalfa Sprouts.

Then I went into the Sauce and Oils bar and added Hot sauce, Ginger, Garlic, Honey Garlic, Mustard, Teriyaki, Black Bean and Honey Garlic- well a little bit of everything. I added my share of Noodles and topped it off with some Hot Chilly Sauce, Salt and Pepper! I should say the final outcome was quite tasty and the best thing is that it is served piping hot! Whenever you visit a Mongolian Grill, the one thing you have to remember is to add adequate sauces and oils to your selection so that whatever you select gets cooked well!

I would not say that I will enjoy Mongolian Grill daily. But this is definitely an option that a foodie can try! Do not hesitate to check into one as and when you come across one next time :-)