HUHOT MONGOLIAN GRILL

Where: HuHot Mongolian Grill, 693 N 920 E, Spanish Fork

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen 

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: 2 Dinner Buffets (one with sweet & sour soup, the other with Asian salad)

What It Cost: $36.78

What We Thought: 

Continuing on the Asian theme from last week, we decided to make a visit to HuHot Mongolian Grill in Spanish Fork. After trying Mongo's Stir Fry in Provo (I can't find my pictures anywhere!!! We loved it, but it might be closed? Let us know if you know anything about this!!), we were pretty excited. Excited enough to make a trip all the way down to Spanish Fork, after all :) 

I was put off from the start of the visit by the service - I am that annoying customer who always asks to be sat next to a window (hey! It was really dark in the restaurant, and I am taking pictures for all of you here!), and for some reason they refused to seat us at one of the several empty tables that were near windows. They claimed something about having to keep a rotation or something, and assured me that those tables were being used or reserved, but two of them stayed empty during our whole stay. It's a little thing, I know, but it really was only in their benefit (photo-wise). Oh well.

We ordered the dinner buffet, since that was really the only option for dinner. You have to get the full, all-you-can-eat buffet choice, and there are no cheaper options for people who aren't really in the mood to eat a ton, which was a bummer. I started out with the Asian salad, and to be honest, it looked so bleh that I didn't even really eat it. The dressing was weak (thus, dry salad), the raw broccoli was gross, and really - who is going to eat a salad when they can get as many noodles as they want? Don't fill up on this. Plus the whole package of ramen noodles on top was rather deterring.

Owen got the sweet and sour soup, which was alright. Pretty brothy and mild. Not good, but not bad.

Then we got in line to make our noodle stir fry. They have three types of noodles, various meats (pork, beef, chicken, even tofu!), an assortment of vegetables, and a whole lot of sauces. The sauces are really the highlight here, and for those of you who are easily intimidated, they have sample "recipes" where you can combine various sauces for more interesting flavor profiles. 

So you load up everything onto a plate, and then get in line to have it fried for you on the Mongolian grill. Somehow, all of those foods magically cook at the same rates, and they mix, chop and fry it all up for you right then and there. This part is pretty fun, and though you can tell they are dying of sweat and exhaustion, the fry cooks put on a little show, throwing knives and such around. I hope they are getting paid a lot! 

After waiting in two, possibly three, lines, you can finally eat your food! It's really hard to comment on the flavors of the food here, since it's your own fault if you put together a bad plate of stir fry! It's really up to you to make a good combo of meat, vegetables, and sauces. The ingredients on their own were all fresh and mostly well-cooked (broccoli and potatoes turned out a little raw, so be warned), and it's a great place for picky eaters! The only bummer was both Owen and I were totally full after one round.

We went back because we felt like we had to "get our money's worth," and $18 for one plate of stir fry really did not seem worthwhile. But we ending up totally stuffing our faces (and stomachs), and regretting it afterwards.

What You Should Do: If you're in the mood, you better come very hungry. Or if you're like a football player or something, this place may be good for you. If you are a regular person who generally only eats one plate of food per meal, you may be disappointed by high costs. We loved Mongo's because they had different size options (small, large, or all-you-can-eat) with better prices, and if HuHot went this route, we would totally be down with it. But for how much normally eat, we both thought it was too expensive. Plus they forgot our rice (not that we would have eaten it...)

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