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October 16, 2008
Another Day, Another Disappointing Meal...
Dawnise and I quite enjoy Mongolian BBQ, though we haven't had any in a couple years, We decided to break that trend tonight, and turned, once again, to Yelp (silly me) for guidance. There were two in the immediate vicinity - one got a paltry 2.5 stars, the other 3.5. Neither a ringing endorsement, but we figured we'd try the better of the two anyway.
I mean, fresh veggies, thin sliced meat - how bad could you really screw that up?
The answer, at least for Chang's Mongolian Grill in Renton, is pretty damn badly. The ingredients were ok - a reasonable assortment of meats, including Beef, Chicken, Pork, Turkey and Lamb, some seafood (Shrimp, Squid, and two types of fish), noodles, and veggies.
There was a sauces section that looked quite impressive - a good dozen liquids of various colors and descriptions - from Sherry to Soy Sauce, Garlic, Ginger, and oils.
We both loaded up a bowl and handed them to the fellow on the grill. The grill looked right - big black round thing, plenty hot, etc. etc.
We got our food back, went back to our table, and took a bite.
It was totally devoid of flavor.
Even the lamb I used in mine only had a hint of the earthiness commonly associated with lamb.
We both decided we must have under-sauced it.
Fortunately, neither one of us got huge bowls, so we decided to give it another try.
I loaded my second bowl up with jalapenos, several scoops of chili oil, and dumped more chili flake on after cooking for good measure. Visually, the amount of spice I had there should have reduced me to a mass of mucus, not to mention the heap of minced garlic on top.
Nothing.
Nada.
Like I've had bowls of white rice with more flavor.
Like the food-service vanilla soft-serve they brought out (included in the price) had more flavor.
Like we're never, ever, going back there...
Blech.
Posted by dberger at October 16, 2008 8:03 PM