The FARANG Speaks 2 Much (tfs2m)

I make it a point as much as I can to try new places. I watched Mongo’S getting built and figured once they got their kinks worked out that it might be a nice place to try. Mongo’S is just past the Landmark hotel in the Two Pacific Place building. You can’t miss the signs or the outdoor patio area. It is a modern Asian style place with a big menu, daily lunch specials, and a bar but I only had interest in the Mongolian BBQ. My guess was I could get Thai food or European food just about anywhere else at more reasonable prices. I used to eat at the Mongolian BBQ places in California all the time. If you knew how to work the place you could manage to fill your bowl and get a great meal at a reasonable price. I wanted to see if I could accomplish the same feat in Bangkok.

The restaurant looks cool and if the heat is not too oppressive I suggest eating on the patio and watching the Sukhumvit riff raff go by. I always like watching the Thai girls walk up to the main roundabout in front of the Landmark to call their customer in the Landmark and then proceed to the lobby to wait for someone to meet them. Commerce at its finest. The pricing at Mongo’S is not cheap cheap but I think the lunchtime Mongolian BBQ, single trip, is okay but I would not pay the evening time price since I think it is too much.

Lunchtime price for the Mongolian BBQ is 290 baht. This includes a small bowl of soup, some bread, dipping sauce for the bread and one trip through the BBQ. You choose your sauce at the table from a menu. This is different to the places back in California where you choose your sauces along with the food. Not a big deal since the choice of sauces was interesting and the finished product tasty. Be advised that when you head to the BBQ area they try and take your uneaten bread. I got on them about that.

The BBQ line is like a big buffet starting with vegetables and I must say the assortment was pretty varied with some interesting options like white mushrooms. Then there are noodle offerings and other vegetables. A huge meat section with items like crocodile, ostrich and wild boar. The meat is all thinly sliced so it cooks easily. This is where you have to plan accordingly and pack as much in as you can without it spilling out of your bowl. The trick is put the meat on the bottom, then noodles and lastly the veggies. They also had a seafood section but I skipped it. Then they have some seasonings and nuts to finish it off. My bowl was packed but I knew it would all cook down. Then u hand it over to the cooks so they can add your chosen sauce, written on your tray, and cook it all up. They cooks work behind glass in case you want to watch them finish it all off.

They bring your food out when it is done along with a small bowl of rice. All in all I was stuffed and thought it was pretty tasty. For the money I was pretty satisfied but my only quibble was the VAT and the service charge added on top of the 290 baht. I think any place, outside of hotels, that adds a service charge is out of line. I told them so and may even write an email to them that if they expect the locals/expats to frequent the place then they need to drop the service charge. In my mind if a place has decent food, good service and a reason to come back then people will leave tips and the staff will feel compensated. Overall a better impression that automatically charging people 10%.

All in all I can’t say the place is amazing and I imagine I would only go for the Mongolian BBQ during the lunchtime pricing but that may just be enough for something different now and then.

Details:

Mongo’S Restaurant and Bar
142 Ground Floor, Two Pacific Place
Sukhumvit Road

tel. +66 (0) 2 255 1122
fax. +66 (0) 2 255 0782

email: tpp.bkk@mongos.biz
http://www.mangos.biz