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Check Out The Rave Reviews.
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– by Kim M Wiseman |
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But Chang’s Mongolian Grill in Kent has taken the soldier’s eat-and-run repast to the level of elaborate stir-fry, with a round fiery grill at the heart of the culinary entertainment.
Flames add to the drama as Chang’s extensive assortment of fresh vegetables, meats and noodles are cooked by the chefs at the specialty grill, with diner’s watching ringside.
It’s kind of an interesting idea - more of a legend, said Andy Iwano, co-owner of three Chang’s Mongolian Grill Restaurants – in Kent, Seattle and Everett. " Mongolian soldiers were nomads and when they would camp at night, they would throw their metal shields down on the fires and cook their meat that way.
" It’ s sort of like the GI’s cooking things in the old style metal helmets."
Chang’s displays the legend of the Mongol grill for diners to peruse before they’re seated – to set the mood.
Bordered by Russia to the North and China to the south, Mongolia is a vast plateau of about a million square miles. The nomadic Mongols once migrated across the steppes of East Central Asia, with their portable yurts and livestock in tow.
Traditionally, Mongols roasted thinly sliced mutton or beef on the grill, a custom spread by Genghis Khan’s armies as they invaded China in the 13th Century. The addition of fresh vegetables and spices can be contributed to the Chinese.
At Chang’s, the grilling is almost an art form, choreographed by chefs as they juggle stir-fry combinations chosen by diners from a bright display of ingredients.
The chance to customize their meal – going back to explore different flavor combinations – is a popular concept with Changs’s fans.
I think that’s what people enjoy about it the best – they get to pick out what they want and that’s important," said Nathalie Adams, who greets customers at Chang’s in Kent.
We get regulars who flock right in and say; Where are you going to put me. Then they head right for the buffet," said Joe Barron, manger of the Kent restaurant. "They know the servers and a lot also know the cooks by name. Sometimes they’ll just stand back and watch, then go at it."
Their customers, Iwano said, definitely like being involved in the choose it yourself cuisine. That fascination spans generations.
" Kids love this place, too, because they don’t have to wait to be seated, to be served or for their food," he said, " They can get started right away with picking out what they want to eat."
"The kids will get a bowl – the ones that can reach it anyway," agreed Barron, " They like combining the food for themselves."
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Then come the vegetables – red and white cabbage, carrots, broccoli, green onions, bean sprouts, zucchini and more. It’s all topped off with a helping of noodles.
Sauces are created by adding ladles of dilute pineapple juice, salt water, lime juice, cooking sherry, ginger, garlic, hot chile oil, oyster sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce to the bowl. A recipe on an overhead reader’s board tells how to mix proportions for hot, medium and mild sauce.
Then the piled up bowls of ingredients and sauces are handed to the grill masters.
" The trick to the sauce is to put plenty on so the food doesn’t dry out on the grill." He explained.
Cooks at the grill are adept at keeping each bowl separate and in order, even when crowds line up and there are three chefs in the action.
Guests stand by the grill enjoying the entertainment while awaiting the delivery of their steaming plates.
" It’s pretty interesting on a Friday or Saturday night when it’s really busy, to see them up at the grill," said Barron, "As long as people keep their order in line everything goes alright."
Individualization is the key at Chang’s as everyone can choose what is in the dish and the ‘heat’ of the dish.
" It’s nice to make my own sauce. I make it different." Said Drew Price. Drew and his wife Dorothy make Chang’s a regular stop. " I make mine real hot".
Restaurant newcomers are sometimes confused but they catch on rapidly.
"I don’t know if I got the right combination." said Linda Heinrich of Kent, a first time visitor to the East Hill Grill. She came away a convert. Her stir-fry was "absolutely delicious".
" You can’t beat the food _ it’s so different," said Price. "We started going to a place like this in California and were glad to see this place open. We drive all the way over here from Burien once a week."
" The restaurant is a good. fun, playground." Said Dorothy Price.
The Mongol grill concept is catching on. To meet the demand, the partnership of Iwano and brothers Peter Chang and Chi Wei Chang recently opened their third restaurant in Everett.Ch Wei Chang also operates five restaurants in Oregon.
Once their plates are loaded with grilled stir-fry, diners head back to their tables, where soup and steamed rice await. Guests are also provided with mocshu pancakes, similar to egg roll wrappers.
"A lot of people really like the pancakes,’ says Iwano. "We have a plum sauce and you can squirt it in the pancake and roll it up with the vegetables. That tastes really good.
Many customers appreciate the healthy focus on fresh vegetables and their control of the amount of meat and even oil in the sauce.
" It is healthy. You’ve chosen what you want and you can see what is being cooked.’ Said area resident Rob Kerr, a frequent visitor because he manages a nearby East Hill Jiffy Lube. "It’s different every time I come here," said Kerr who enjoys customizing his menu." You can even make it different, hot or mild – if you come up twice in one meal, because of the sauces."