Mongo's Grill: Helpful Hints!

Mongo's Grill is a unique dining experience that is sure to be delightful as long as you know what you're doing! For those of you who don't know, Mongo's is a do it yourself type Mongolian restaurant. They have an assortment of vegetables, meats, noodles, sauces and seasonings in which you combine and they cook it for you on their grill. There are a few options on their menu, you can get just one bowl, one bowl plus soup and salad bar (which isn't worth it), or the Mega Mongo, unlimited bowls and soup and salad bar. Each one becoming more expensive as it includes more. For most people just one bowl is satisfactory since it's pretty hard to make a bad stir fry but there are a few common errors that people often make that result in unsatisfactory meals and repeat trips to make more bowls. Personally, I have frequented the restaurant on many occasions and have learnt a few things on how to be a successful Mongolian stir fry guru.

Tip # 1: Stack all your food in a certain order, it makes it easier to fit as much as possible into one bowl (if you fill up on one bowl it's less expensive than if you have to go back for more). My winning order is vegetables, meats, noodles, sauces, spices. The noodles are best on top because they all stick together and then they'll absorb all the sauces and oils creating less mess!

Tip #2: Plain and simple, do not overfill your bowl! If you are that hungry, shell out the extra couple dollars for the unlimited bowls and do everyone else a favor by not creating a huge mess when your bowl leaks everywhere.

Tip #3: When choosing your vegetables, make sure you think about it. Just because they're all there for you to pick from doesn't mean that they're going to taste good together. It's all about flavors combining and if you don't think they would go well together, don't put them all in our bowl.

Tip #4: Stick to one or two kinds of meat. Though steak and salmon may sound like they go well together you have to remember that in a stir fry all the flavors mingle. It's best to keep in the same family of meats (seafood, red, white, etc.) in stir fry. (Note: this isn't very helpful to a lot of men since they think all meats go together...all the time.)

Tip #5: Neatly stack your noodles. This does take practice but the way you stack your noodles is very important. The best way to ensure that they won't fall all over the place is to stick to one type of noodle. Once you start adding more than one it gets messy. There's no real trick to stacking them right, just practice makes perfect.

Tip #6:  Make sure to read all the different sauces before choosing which ones you are going to put together. I've seen people just put one scoop of each sauce that they think sounds good without thinking if they even mix well. This is a recipe for disaster. Choose 2-4 different sauces and use multiple scoops of each so that it's of significance to the flavor of the stir fry.

Tip #7: When they ask if you want rice, get it on the side. Though it may sound delicious to have it mixed in, sometimes it's just too much for people and they wished they had gotten it on the side. This way is win, win, you can have it on the side and then if you decide that you like it enough then you can mix it in yourself.

Tip #8: Taste the finishing sauces before you put them on. There are little black containers for a reason, so you can put the sauces in them before finishing off your stir fry. There's nothing worse than ruining a stir fry because the finishing sauce wasn't to your liking.

Tip #9: Kind of an extension of the last tip, do not pour on too much hot sauce! I always see people put way too much hot sauce on and then complain because their mouths are burning. They have Sriracha sauce there and for those unfamiliar with the brand, it's very hot and you need very little to add spice. Once again, I suggest putting the hot sauce in a little black container and add more as you go to avoid a burnt mouth.

Tip #10: Last but not least, finish off with any nuts or crispy chow mein noodles as you wish and enjoy!

For more information on the restaurant locations, hours, etc. visit their website : www.mongosgrill.com