Mongolian Barbeque

The Mongolian Barbecue is a bit of a chain in London. So it's popular for big groups of people wanting relatively cheap eats and lots of it. The restaurant's website says that the history of this kind of food goes back to the 13th century when Marco Polo noted that Mongolians liked to barbecue their food. This being one of the earliest cooking forms, it no doubt pre dates even that explorer's observations. This is a bit of a chinese place in disguise, where you choose from meat, fish or tofo, a selection of vegetables and then watch it all being cooked up in front of you on huge circular grills.