25 Majoribanks Street
Having noticed this restaurant almost next door to where we were staying, we thought that we would give it a try as from the outside, seeing chefs cooking as we looked through the front window, it looked like a different dining experience.
“Genghis Khan was the famous Mongolian warrior of the 13th century who organised the hordes of Mongolia through incredible force of personality into the greatest conquering army in the world has ever known. the Empire of Mongolia which flourished for only three centuries stretched from China to Central Europe and was greater than the empires of Alexander the Great or Napoleon. The Mongols were fierce nomadic people ingenious an ruthless in war but who built no civilisation and left only legend.”
On entering the large restaurant,you notice that to your left there is, what seems to be a buffet area, with a step leading down to a large log fired barbecue. I(t is not a barbecue as we know from Europe, but a large, circular one standing waist high with a metal cooking surface heated from beneath.) This method of cooking is now most famous in Taiwan and has its origin in the nomadic way of cooking on an iron plate over a log fire. The place has a real atmosphere, with both large and small tables already full at an early hour of the evening from groups of young people, to couples to families. Dark green walls and red cushioned chairs give the place a warm feel with backlit pictures of Genghis Khan and his army covering walls.
The dining concept is an easy one. Everyone pays 24.50 NZ dollars (about 12 euros) and goes on the receive a three course meal, all you can eat. Starting with soup of the day and then moving onto the Mongolian BBQ. Here, each diner is given their own bowl which you then go and fill with the ingredients of your choice from the buffet area. It is really a stir-fry idea raw ingredients consisting of noodles, spring onions, grated carrots, broccoli, onions, cabbage and bean spouts. You then get to chose the meat, or meats, that you want which are at the time of choosing, thinly sliced and slightly frozen (chicken, lamb, pork and beef). Lastly a choice of dressings ranging from the standard soy sauce, garlic, ginger and chili oil to lemon water, satay sauce, curry powder and mashed pineapple. Once you have filled your bowl with your desired ingredients, you then hand it down to one of the two chefs working over the barbecue below. They then empty your bowl onto their hot plate and quickly cook your selected meal moving it around rapidly with chopsticks before placing it back into a clean bowl in one fast movement hardly losing a noodle!
It is an ingenious idea! No-one can complain about anything as you have compiled the dish yourself, adding what you wanted, in the portions that you wanted! There is no messing around with menu´s, specials of the day and splitting the bill, as everyone choses from the same ingredients and pays the same. And if you feel you didn´t get the combination right the first time or if you felt you were lacking a certain spice or flavour, you can have another go, and another…….well, you can keep going back until you are full! (which only took us two bowls each and that was without having any soup!)
Desserts are included in the price too, and range from lychees and fruit salads to chocolate mousse and deep fried ice-cream.
The place has a great buzz about it, where you see people chatting and comparing ´recipes´ as they queue for the chefs. Another thing that is great with the restaurant is their BYO (bring your own) policy, one which is very popular in New Zealand. For a small corkage charge (here 4 NZ dollars) you get to bring your own bottle of wine, so for a couple sharing one, or for large groups who plan to consume numerous bottles, money can also be saved on this front by bringing your own with you 
The host and his staff are extremely accommodating and the service is fast and efficient. All in all, I would definitely say that this is one of the most fun dining experiences we have had so far in New Zealand, a novel idea that seems to be working extremely well if the number of people in the restaurant is anything to go by, along with the number of people waiting for tables!
The chefs at work
