Thursday, May 26, 2005

Kublai Khan Mongolian BBQ

Kublai Khan Mongolian BBQ

One of the things I miss about California is the Mongolian BBQ, so I remembered looking up "Mongolian BBQ" in the Singapore phone book not long after I arrived. I found this place in Park Mall, but never had the chance to go there. After some time, I had the unfortunate opportunity of going to Seoul Garden (which is probably the most disgusting and furthest thing from Korean food that you can get), and it left the impression that this place could be just as nasty. So I never really went to this place.

Tonight, for some reason, I wanted to challenge my instincts, and hoped that this place actually would be good (and not another Seoul Garden). And guess what? This place really does have the big Mongolian platter thing where the chef circles it as he cooks your self-picked bowl of raw ingredients (and the sauce poured on top of course). So I got really excited. After getting my bowl, I sat down and hoped the food would still stand up to expectations, and it was actually pretty good and true to taste. (Although or some reason, there were no noodles nor chili oil available, but it was still decent.) Wow.

But then it went downhill from there. I veered off the Mongolian path and went for their buffet - yuck. I know better than to eat at a buffet. That was horrible (yuck on the pastry-covered mushroom soup with the sweet taste - bleah!). To make things scarier, there was a sign next to the sushi bar saying "If you have a weak stomach, please put lemon wedge or Tabasco sauce before you consume oysters or sashimi." Bad sign?? Guess who stayed away from that.

Disappointed, I went back to the Mongolian BBQ spread, making a bowl that I knew would be OK as I had tried it already. But I was getting pretty full by then, and at that point, I realized I didn't want to eat here again. It really just wasn't as tasty as California (the lack of chili oil being a huge factor). In fact, the only reason it tasted good at the beginning was because my expectations were crap to begin with.

My advice? If you have to satiate cravings for Mongolian BBQ, then go here and stick only to the Mongolian BBQ. Or better, go to California and get a tastier bowl there. (Hey, I wonder what real Mongolian food is like in Mongolia??)

For me, it's not likely that I'll be returning to this place. Darn it, I know better than to eat at a buffet.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha, actually the mongolian bbq in california isn't real either. The mongolian bbq everyone knkows was originally made in China and spread across the world through these sort of restaurants.

Big Country Little town said...

yeah he says it like every article.....