500 E 78th St
Richfield, MN 55423
(612) 861-7991
Category: Mongolian BBQ, Asian-Chinese
Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 5
Service: 6
Ambience: 6
Recommendation: Average. A great concept, which when executed well, can be a delight. Unfortunately Khan’s isn’t the place for great Mongolian BBQ.
The concept of Mongolian BBQ is that of Japanese Teppanyaki (cooking meat and veggies on a large hot griddle). We’ve eaten at quite a few Mongolian BBQ restaurants, albeit not in the Twin Cities, and they have been quite good. Khan’s is a chain of 4 restaurants in the Twin Cities that brings the Mongolian BBQ experience to the greater masses (other Mongolian BBQ restaurants we have eaten at are quite pricey). The place isn’t especially fancy – the décor does have an Asian tilt to it, but the place is old and the seating ordinary. There is an open kitchen and a large buffet line with all the fixings – but just the setup and the feeling of walking through a run down restaurant put me off.
The concept is a “create your own stir fry” where you fill a bowl picking from a large selection of meats, veggies, and sauces. You get a single bowl at lunch or it’s all you can eat for dinner. Appetizers are included – we were unimpressed with the Hot and Sour soup (which could have used some punch) as well as the Deep fried wonton wrapper with sweet sour sauce and the Chicken Wings. Creating your own stir fry is fun, but the ingredients here aren’t of the finest quality and the sauces are a little diluted. You can create your own sauce or use one of the suggested combinations. The cooks take the bowl of ingredients and stir fry it over a very hot griddle – a process that takes 4-5 minutes and because of the hot griddle requires a copious use of oil. The griddle, which has heavy deposits due to caramelization of the sugars is scraped between uses with the deposits dropped over the edge into a holding area, a process that is a turnoff and frankly shouldn’t be visible to the customers. As for the food, it was ok; the flavors just didn’t leave a lasting impression. This is a fun place to bring a family and enjoy the “create your own stir fry” experience, but when I go to a restaurant my primary motivation is good food and Khan’s doesn’t deliver.
$$. Lunch without tax and tip is $9 while the all you can eat option is $13.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Khan’s Mongolian BBQ
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2 comments:
Maybe it's just my bad luck but I have yet to eat in a Mongolian BBQ place that I've enjoyed. The gimmicky concept seems fun the first time you go but the food seems to always be underwhelming. I feel the same about Japanese teppanyaki performances. For my money, impress me with delicious food that speaks to me rather than little onion volcanoes.
"a process that is a turnoff and frankly shouldn’t be visible to the customers"
It almost sounds like you're missing some of the point of a mongolian grill. After leaving the Twin Cities nearly eight years ago, I have yet to find a place that does as well as Khan's, in the Pacific Northwest or otherwise. They cook the noodles and meats just right, the sauces are diverse and as pungent as you need them to be, and the service is quite good. I'd give it another go, you guys.
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