Day 8, Thursday morning

Lunch at the Mongolian Barbeque



Photo by Lucie Field


Photo by Gene Field
 

Our next stop on the tour was lunch at the Mongolian Barbeque which our guide had been telling us about for two days. When we walked in it was very crowded and noisy and we were told to find a seat and then go get our meal.

To get the meal we walked along a cafeteria-like display of different meats and vegetables that we piled in a bowl. When we got to the end of the line we gave our bowl to one of the three men who were doing the cooking. The pile of food on the plate was thrown onto what looked like a giant flat wok with an open fire underneath and tossed and tossed until done. Then it was tossed onto a plate and handed to you. All of this was done very quickly.


The meats that we could choose from included chicken, pork and yak and the assortment of vegetables included a lot of the Chinese vegetables that we had been eating all week. The meats had pictures above them of the animals they came from so that you could tell what you were getting. Otherwise you had to know the Chinese characters or know what the meat you wanted looked like.

When you piled all this up in the bowl it looked like a huge amount of food, but after being cooked, it was half the size, so many people went back for seconds.

  
Photo by Lucie Field

Photo by Gene Field
   
Photo by Lucie Field
Photo by Lucie Field


Note the animals pictured above the meat so you would know what you were getting no matter what language you spoke. There were many other people going on tours, many of whom did not speak English.

The fire was hot and the meals were cooked very quickly. I don't know how the men could stand to be in there for very long. 		   Photo by Sheryl Arnold

Photo by Gene Field

The sign above says "Pick Up Food" and this is where the barbequeing took place. I think everyone was watching closely to make sure they got back the bowl of food that they handed over. It was done very quickly: the cook gave it one last turn, tossing it into the bowl and handing it to you so fast it seemed like he was going to toss the food right at you.

   Photo by Gene Field

Note the glasses of beer, standard at every meal. Just don't ask for wine (we never saw any) or water. We were charged a hefty price for water in restaurants when we could get it.


Photo by Gene Field    Photo by Gene Field



15 July 2006 [China Trip index |next]