[dropcap size=big]R[/dropcap]eal Mongolian BBQ isn’t what you think. Real Mongolian BBQ is eating big chunks of lamb with your fingers. It’s not those greasy noodles fried on a wide flat grill at any number of Chinese restaurants around Los Angeles, an idea originally concocted in Taiwan to sell Japanese food.
The Mongolian BBQ I’m talking about is Khorkhog, pronounced something close to “whore-hog.” That’s right, Whore Hog. The sound of it just screams meat-loving nomads camping out on the windswept Central Asian Steppe. It’s the farthest thing from stir fry, and there is only one place in Los Angeles to get khorkhog, traditional Mongolian food – or any Mongolian food, for that matter – Golden Mongolian Restaurant in Koreatown.
Golden Mongolian is the effort of Ganbat Damba, a 51-year-old former hydraulic engineer. He left his life in Mongolia 15 ago years and settled in Los Angeles. Back then, he had no idea he would be running L.A.’s only Mongolian restaurant. Today the restaurant caters to the city's estimated 5,000 Mongolians residing in L.A., but it's also a destination for anyone in search of authentic Mongolian dishes. Now, the restaurant doubles as a community center, complete with cultural knickknacks for sale in display cabinets.
Damba told L.A. Taco that he came here even though he didn’t know a single word of English, because he wanted to provide a better education for his three boys.