Khublai
Khan conquered China and now he rules Glasgow too-in the restaurant
stakes.
The Chinese Emperor has been tantalising Glaswegian’s taste buds
for five years now but this is one experience you could never tire of.
Legend has it that 13th century Mongolian warriors stir-fried their
food on their upturned shields, over a campfire. And that’s exactly
what you do here – the stir-frying, that is, not the campfire
and shields.
At Khublai Khan the way to eat is simple. First pick your starter from
the menu. With a choie of ostrich, mussels, smoked mackerel and roasted
yak ribs, it’s a hard decision.
The freshly steamed mussels in white wine, tomato and shallot sauce
had my senses doing back flips. But, if seafood is not for you, try
the cream of broccoli and fennel soup with fresh basil, or alternatively
the vegetable spring rolls served with a sweet chilli plum dipping sauce-fantastic.
Next up is the main course, aptly named the Mongolian Feast. With a
bowl in hand, you head up to the barbecue where noodles, rice, vegetables
and meat are all laid out in front of you. Just pick what you like and
drop it into your bowl. The choice is fantastic-watch out for the shark
and wild boar, definitely worth a try for those with more adventurous
palates.
Then it
is your chance to play chef. An array of oils and spices allow you to
concoct your own sauce. If you can’t decide, recipes are listed
on the wall for various Mongolian specialities. The chef puts your creation
on a huge, sizzling hot plate in front of you and, voila, dinner is
served.
The best thing about Khublai Khan is you can repeat this as often as
you like. And if you can squeeze in dessert after that, it’ll
be hard to choose between the home-made Malteeser ice cream and the
coconut flavoured mousse. Dining with the great emperor is certainly
a different experience, and at £16.95 per person, an affordable
one.