James > wrote:

> Seems a lot of places feature Mongolian Grill. Is it an western
> invention?
>
> They feature meats, seafood, vegetables but the only foods native
> Mongolians have access to are sheep, horses, milk & milk products.
> Never saw a Mongolian Grill in any travel films.

According to a lot of sources, "Mongolian grill", AKA "Mongolian
barbecue" is a fairly recent Chinese invention. See, for example, an
very interesting Chinese food history Web page at

<http://www.krazykioti.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=32&Itemi d=45>.

Scroll to the very end and you will find the following:

"Sometimes, a particular chef's or family's creation takes off
spectacularly, because it fits perfectly with new needs and wants; the
rise of mapo doufu and "Mongolian barbecue" could be mentioned. (Mapo
doufu, the perfect expression of Sichuanese taste, appears to have been
invented in the 19th or early 20th century, probably by a family named
Chen. "Mongolian barbecue" was invented in north China by a Chinese
chef in the 20th century; it is vaguely Mongolian by inspiration, but
was a truly new creation.)

Victor