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restaurant reviews...
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"Definitely worth checking out"
"A three course extravaganza"
"An alternative dining experience in ambient surroundings"
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"Offers a unique experience" "Relaxed and friendly" "Made your mouth water"
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"You Khan cook a taste of Mongolia"
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"Fantastic value"
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"Fantastic value"
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"A Mongolian restaurant? In Glasgow? Oh yes, and what a refreshing change! Situauted in the Merchant city Khublai Khan provides Glasgow diners with an alternative dining experience in ambient surroundings slap bang in the city centre."
"Apparently in the 13th century it was customary for the Great Khans, the warriors who ruled Mongolia, to cook their food on an upturned shields over a camp fire. Consisting of chunks of meat, a selection of vegetables and aromatic oils, herbs and spices, Khublai Khan have propelled this ancient tradition into the 20th Century and present us with their 'Mongolian Feast' - a three course extravaganza at the reasonable price of £20.95 per person."
Both your starter and sweet are chosen from the main menu, while your main course is a Mongolia barbeque buffet affair where you can eats as much as you can manage!
I plumped for a starter of Tarag Davs, fresh mushrooms in a creamy sauce enhanced with garlic, brandy and wine, while my companion tried the Gahainy Mah -barbequed yak ribs marintated in a smokey sauce which tasted very similar to pork. Both dishes were lip-smackigly tasty and our anticipation was mounting as we made our way through to the barbeque.
Keeping our waitress`s advice in mind (try small portions and go back for more) we picked up our bowls and began to make our way along the tables of ingredients. Firstly you have to choice of rice, noodles and beensprouts which you pop into your bowl followed by a selection of beautifully fresh vegetables, then add your choice of meat or fish (chicken, pork, beef and tuna to name but a few). Next you arrive at tables laden with exotic oils and spices which you add to your bowls to make a tasty sauce. For novices (like us!) there`s a helpful menu of possible taste sensations with names such as 'The Wrath Of Khan' and 'Kani Mak Mi Swally It'. I plumped for 'Ruby Khan' which included ingredients such as curry sauce, garlic oil, cumin and coriander, while my companion tried the Hordes` Feast which consisted of coconut milk, olive oil, tomato and herbs, dessicated coconut, tumeric and cumin. The next step is to visit the hot plate where your mountain (so much for the small portions) is cooked on a giant hot plateand then returned, steaming, to your bowl. You can go back and fill up as often as you like, but be warned, watch out for the ginger, a little goes along way.
Surprisingly we did manage a sweet. I chose the 'Hung Yum', a rich banoffee pie which, was delicious and came accompanied by homemade ice cream, while my companion chose a light and refreshing sorbet.
There`s a wonderful selection of coffee, teas and herbal infusions on offer to compliment your meal, as well as a very interesting selection of cocktail pitchers (£9.00 for 2 pints) and house wine at £13.95 a bottle (white or red).
Khublai Khan is certainly the most original dining experience I`ve ever had and is definetily worth checking out.
Mongolian food? I was intrigued and discovered the full feast (£20.95) consisting of Khubla Temptations, The Barbeque, (unlimited), and Khans Delights.
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I was tempted by the wild boar and red chilli terrine wrapped in a hazelnut and herb crust. More impressive however, were the yak ribs ordered by my friend. Succulent and tender they were served with a tangy sauce which made your mouth water.
Next came the barbecue and I learned that Mongolian food is characterised by method of cooking rather than ingredients. Apparently, it was the custom in 13th century Mongolia for the marauding warriors of the Great Khan’s to cook their meat with vegetables, oils, herbs and spices in their upturned shields over the campfire. Khublai Khan’s is somewhat more sophisticated but the principle remains. You can choose from noodles or rice, chicken, pork, lamb, beef, ostrich, mussels, tuna, shark or prawns. 15 jugs are filled with different aromatic oils and spices including, Cajun, sweet and sour, Thai, coconut milk, lemon, olive oil and there are 16 dishes of herbs and spices to add the final touch to you creation. Your bowl is then handed to a cook who fries it on a hotplate in front of you.
I selected rice with shark and mussels, sweet n’sour sauce, chilli sauce, ginger, lemon and garlic. The result was a hot and spicy seafood dish. You can eat as much as you like. My tip however would be to follow the suggested recipes on the walls to avoid disastrous combinations. The guy next to me seemed to be doing well because by the time I had reached Khan’s delightful Banoffie pie he must have been on about his 6th portion.
The décor is interesting. One wall is covered by a mural of Mongol warriors on horseback which reminded me of Monty Pythons Time Bandits. I kept expecting them to charge out at me. House wines in Glasgow restaurants seem to be improving and at Khublai Khan’s a red medium bodied fruity wine, La Pintora was on offer. At 12% and £11.50 a bottle it’s good value and compliments the meat dishes but does not overwhelm the fish.
Khublai Khan’s offers a unique experience and will become very popular for a night out. It is relaxed and friendly and the traditions and atmosphere of Mongolia will definitely appeal to the Bravehearts amongst you.
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The Mongolian barbeque restaurant is the second of its kind to hit Scotland. And owners Alasdair McRobbie (37) and his brother Andrew (35) reckon it will change the face of dining forever when it’s launched in the Merchant City’s trendy Candleriggs. Having opened their Leith restaurant with the help of Virgin boss Richard Branson in 1995, the brothers felt it was time to bring the concept to Glasgow. The Mongolian Barbeque found its origins in the 13th century when the warriors of the Great Khans, who ruled Mongolia, were rampaging through Eastern Europe.
Using their upturned shields as woks they would prepare their evening meal over the camp fires. They would then add their own herbs, spices, sauces, and aromatic oils which they carried with them, to create a huge stir-fry. Explains Alisdair, a serving Virgin Atlantic airline pilot: “That is basically what we do at Khublai Khan although we’re a bit more civilised about it”. At the restaurant, which has been designed by the design and build team at Project Management Partnership and Dunn’s Interiors, diners will be able to enjoy anything from a light snack to a banquet, and a beer to a Mongolian vodka. And there’s a special three course meal available for under £14 from 6pm. “For that price you can choose a starter from a menu ranging from kangaroo enchiladas to wild boar, before being given an empty bowl and making your way up to the BBQ area where some 15-16 different types of raw veg, and different meats and seafood are displayed.” says Alisdair. Diners help themselves and add herbs and spices (approx 16) and aromatic oils and sauces (approx 15) to create their own meal. Then they move over to the huge open hotplate where they watch the Grill Chef stir-fry their dish in front of their eyes. There is a large recipe board to help the culinary challenged and diners can return to the BBQ as often as they like. Desserts are served in a similar fashion to the starters (all home made, including the ice-creams and sorbets). Eating at the restaurant is an “experience” which is reflected in the décor. One whole wall is covered by a specially commissioned mural of Mongol warriors at the charge. The Great Wall of China has been recreated (on a smaller scale) and the walls are adorned with fabrics and Mongolian artefacts. Adds Alisdair: “The restaurant is great fun, informal, and relaxed. It is perfect for large groups and parties as it seats 120. Leith has now become THE venue for group nights out in Edinburgh. We hope it will be the same in Glasgow.”
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"You’ve got to hand it to those ancient Mongols. OK, so they may have marauded, pillaged and ransacked their way through half the globe but most importantly, they did it with a degree of culinary flair. While these legendary warriors cooked on upturned shields between battles, modern diners are fortunate that Khublai Khan’s offers a chance to sample modern cuisine without the need for copious amounts of bloodshed.
The Mongolian Feast represents fantastic value at £20.95 and consists of starter, followed by unlimited trips to the barbecue, then dessert. The barbecue allows you to take your pick from a mammoth array of vegetables, meats, sauces and spices, before the chef cooks it while you wait on his shield-cum-hot plate. Thankfully, they provide twelve handy recipes to get you started but half the fun is choosing a bit of everything you like the look of then marvelling as your creation turns out to be inadvertently delicious. Don’t worry if you overdo it with the chillies though, as the friendly staff won’t make you eat your more ill-advised efforts."
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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 £20.95 per person, an affordable one.
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