It was at Mongo's that I discovered the wonderful, delicate taste of crocodile. I was a bit…read moreskeptical about trying Mongolian barbecue in this small city in Germany, but after so many business trips during which I ate only bratwurst and schnitzel, it turned out to be a welcome change.
We were a group of ten and so made reservations (though it seems that reservations are a must for groups of any size), and most of us picked the winning formula: a 25€ all-you-can-eat buffet. The drinks were extra, and we shared a bottle of red wine (not amazing) and each had cocktails (these were good).
The self-service bar had everything you could think of, from the typical bean sprouts and mushrooms to okra, jalapeño, pineapple, different types of noodles, seafood, and then meat. I wasn't expecting to see crocodile, camel, kangaroo, turkey liver, and ostrich among the choices (hello sustainability?), but I was curious to try them. Once you pile your bowl with these raw ingredients, you set it on the counter before the chefs and in a few minutes it arrives, steaming hot, on your table.
We ate and ate and then ate some more, but at some point we had to stop. The benefit of the buffet is that you can try so many different flavors and toppings, but quickly I found a favorite: a noodle-heavy, vegetable-heavy bowl with lots of crocodile and chili garlic sauce (my fellow diners also seemed to prefer this sauce to the others. It was genuinely garlicky, but if it isn't spicy enough, you can add more chili on top of it from the small chili bar across from the main serving station).
I would come back to Essen just to eat here again. I haven't found anything like it in Paris!
