The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 143

ft RESTAURANT GUIDE Genghis Khan specializes in hot pots and barbecues HOME OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST SPARERI3S A chicken TAKE OUT AVAUSLE 1201 GUY ST. 330C SOURCES RD. 931-3811 68W225 Montreal Most Original SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 11A lb fresh LOBSTER DINNER $7.99 only Our daily Menu also otters a vast variety ot aHordable nan ft seafood disnes and charbroiled steaks 149 Stanley at 6 Maiaonneuvt OA 0 The Best Pizza You'll Ever Taste 25 VARIETIES el Pizie cooud tha real -Italian way maple turning ovens 849-4680 Wt Prleee Art" t. We went table d'hote, starting with the soup which was a chicken stock full of diced bean curd, mushrooms, scallions, Chinese greens, egg and other goodies. We departed briefly from the set menu to sample three appetizers: the Mongolian spring roll the Mongolian bean curd roll ($1.95) and the kuo-tieh Khan fried dumplings The spring roll offered pork and vegetables in a crisp, rice wrapper while the bean curd roll featured the same filling in a wrapper made from bean-curd sheet.

I liked one better than the other, I suspect it was the bean curd, but there was some confusion over which was which. The dumplings, stuffed with pork, Chinese lettuce, bean sprouts and sesame oil, were heavy and odd-tasting. For main dishes we chose combination plates ($1 1.95), one with chicken and lamb, the other with caribou and shrimp. Both were reasonably generous, although as one might expect, there was more chicken than Iamb and about equal amounts of shrimp (five large) and caribou. All were supposed to have been marinated in a special Mongolian marinade but neither of us could taste any trace of it on any of the meats or shrimp.

Other than that, they were quite delicious. The caribou was a novel and not too gamey taste treat. It was sliced a bit too thinly, even for thin, and was difficult to retrieve from the open grill. The dipping sauces were a rather sweet soya-based sauce and a very bland peanut sauce that was more sweet than sour. The rice was plain fried rice with a few scallions while the salad was a mixture of iceberg lettuce with cucumbers and radishes in a too sweet dressing.

Dessert was a simple scoop of good vanilla ice cream garnished with a couple of mandarin orange segments. Coffee was average and service throughout was excellent. The restaurant also offers a complete business lunch, already cooked, ranging from $4.25 to $5.25. Genghis Khan 4961 Queen Mary Rd. Phone: 739-3838.

Lunch: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dinner: Nightly from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wheelchair access: No.

Washrooms: Clean, attractive. Credit cards: All major. Licensed: Yes. Dinner for two, not including wine and tip: $33.61. By HELEN ROCHESTER Gazette Restaurant Critic restaurants that feature offbeat menus and which I call "novelty" restaurants are great fun to have around but represent a tremendous gamble for their owners.

If the particular novelty they offer catches on then they are in luck but often as not, they don't. It remains to be seen which fate lies in wait for the Genghis Khan on Queen Mary a restaurant specializing in Mongolian hot pots and barbecues. As novelties go, however, the Genghis Khan has a lot more going for it than most. It's a cute, cosy and well-designed little place where each table has a built-in gas-fired grill in the centre and a corresponding ventilator above. The tables are a taupe color, set against buff walls and caramel carpeting, with handsome velvet chairs.

At the moment, this is the only room being used. There is another of equal size and similar design that runs parallel to it and which will be used mainly for Mongolian hot-pot cookery. It is due to open soon. Essentially, Mongolian barbecue involves cooking thin strips of various meats (and in this case, shrimp) by placing them for a moment or two on a very hot, domed grill. The hot pot, or fire pot as it is also called, usually involves a bowl-shaped metal pot with a chimney set through its middle in which hot coals are placed to keep the broth in the bowl bubbling.

You dip the meats and vegetables in the broth to cook them. At the Genghis Khan, gas jets are used instead of coals, beneath chimney-less pots. Both styles of cooking are essentially quite healthy because only very lean meats are used and no fat is used in the cooking, another good point in this cholesterol-conscious era. Add to that the fact that the Genghis Khan offers, in addition to the expected beef, chicken and lamb, reindeer or caribou (one is offered as a translation of the other, even though they are slightly different animals) and will soon have buffalo and wild boar. The menu is small and to the point with the price of a plate of any of these meats or shrimp, or combination of any two, ranging from $9.95 to $1 1.95, including the soup of the day, Mongolian salad, steamed or fried rice, dipping sauce, ice cream and beverage.

The same plates are offered a la carte at prices ranging from $6.95 to $9.95 and there are also appetizers, soups and vegetables. -FOR THOSE WHO REALLY CARE' Stv Selected Italian Dlehee and Seafood Bus. Lunch p.m. Tame d'Hote Daily MODERN RECEPTION ROOM UP TO 130 PERSONS 6450 Somsrlsd Cevendleh 488-6804 LE FAUN Since 1977 Fine tndc-Pakistani cuisine Plus our Famous PAON STYLE" Salad Bar "Nowhere have I found bet- rf ter quality at comparaoie prices" Helen Rochester The Gazette British Beer on Tap and Bottled Indian Beer Dining Hall available for any occasion. OPEN: Fri.

Sat. 11:30 a.m. to i a.m. bun. to i nurs.

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