Mongolian Nights: Beef, Lamb and Kitsch at Ao Bao Hui
There are some kitschy extravaganzas that you just can’t stay away from, and Ao Bao Hui is one of them. This is for all of you who long for that Mongolian adventure, good eats included.
It all starts with the milk tea (RMB 8/person). Mildly savory as it should be, it’s served with a spinning wheel of toasted millet, yogurts and cheeses. Last time I was in Mongolia, my host family handed me a dense block of cheese that was hard to chew and even harder to swallow. I discreetly palmed it all through dinner, then slipped it in my pajama pocket so I could dispose of it the next morning. You won’t need to do that here.
Meaty highlights include the roasted lamb chop (RMB 198) and the fried beef with almond oyster mushroom (RMB 68), the latter with beef so tender and mushrooms so hefty it was almost hard to tell them apart. If you want to go big, grab some friends and order the tender roasted sheep back (RMB 1,988), or gather a small village and get the roasted whole cow (RMB 29,999). Holy cow, indeed, and no, that price is not a typo.
For lighter eaters, the “self-made tofu” (RMB 48) is firm and musky, served with a Sriracha-like chilli paste that you’ll start putting on everything else, too. Boiled seasonal vegetables are fresh and hearty, cooked in spring water (imported from Inner Mongolia) and served with a soy-vinegar dip.
Though pastries are not the Mongolians’ strong suit, you can go adventurous with the fragrant camel hump pastry (RMB 68) or go easy with the roasted yogurt bread (RMB 12). The latter is a hoot; we loved the crunchyskin and smooth crumb dipped in condensed milk.
Let’s not forget the show. Nationally revered performers take the stage here, with a re-enactment of a traditional Mongolian wedding that seems to end with the dancers practically funneling rice wine down the gullets of diners young and old – out of a bull’s horn, of course. It’s precisely the kind of pageantry that you want to see while gnawing on a lamb chop.
Also try: Genghis Khan Restaurant, Makye Ame
Ao Bao Hui (Ordos Restaurant)
Daily 10am-10pm. 30 Zhongguancun Nanlu (near Zhongguancun Science and Technology Building), Haidian District (6216 8176) 海淀区中关村南大街30号(近中关村科技发展大厦)
Subway: 800m north of National Library station (Line 4)
Photo: Marilyn Mai
