“It’s just like a fondue, and it’s very popular in China,” says Hong Tan, who runs the Mongolian Hot Pot, of the style of cooking they do there. “We use 30 different kinds of Chinese herbs to make our soup, and the base of the broth comes from China. It’s very healthy and nutritious and contains no MSG. All of our produce is very fresh.”
Tan is originally from Hong Kong and has been in Houston for a mere three months after moving here from Los Angeles, where he spent a few years running one of the Mongolian Hot Pot restaurants there. (There are around 700 locations worldwide, mostly in China.)
Tan explains how it all works. “The broth comes in two varieties, spicy and nonspicy or a combination of both. You choose your ingredients individually, and order your meat, seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu and noodles separately, then cook each piece in the hot broth, which is placed on the cooker on each table.” He adds: “Americans are not used to this cooking method, but once they try it, they really enjoy it.”
Cafe Bites tried the combination of spicy and nonspicy. A combination platter of meats, including lamb, pork and beef, arrived sliced wafer-thin, allowing each piece to cook in eight to ten seconds. We also tried the vegetable combination plate, which seemed like a mountain of food but disappeared as the evening went on. This is not a meal to rush through; in fact, we never stopped eating for the whole hour it took us to finish. It’s a wonderful meal to share with friends.
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