Kublai Khan Crazy Mongolian Stir Fry

One night walking home after dinner at Crave I said, «Let’s go into Kublai Khan for one and check out the bar.»
As they say… famous last words…
After a few hours of working our way through the drink menu, we closed the place much worse for wear. And now we go back every time we have a hankering for a good mai-​tai or fruity cocktail.
Simply put… Friendly bartenders give us yummy drinks.
I should mention that the food is quite good too. Mongolian bbq… how can you go wrong? Well… you can, but it’s generally your own damn fault for getting too ambitious with combining flavors. (Or is that just me?)
I should note that I’m not a sushi guy, so I have no experience with it… my wife and friends have liked it, but they’ve never gotten it off of the belt.

I ordered the spicy mint chicken. It was good I suppose but I didn’t know it was going to be ground chicken. I thought it was going to be chicken breast pieces. The tom yom goong soup was delicious and the fresh spring rolls were good too but didn’t like the sauce.

This place is pretty turrible. Mixed stir fry and Mongolian beef. Ick. Spring roll was ok but you can’t really mess up fried goodness dipped in sweet chili sauce. Do yourself a favor and visit van loc across the street instead.

Do yourself a favor, if you are considering eating here, in route to eat here or have just been seated, take a moment and plan your escape. My party and I arrived here for «happy hour» though I can assure you it was anything but, save the incredible 80’s soundtrack. We were seated in front of the lousiest sushi belt I have laid eyes and proceeded to wait for thirty minutes to be offered a cup of water to wash down the taste of stagnant fake crab meat and cold edamame.
All of the sushi was frigid and I am fairly certain it had been around the conveyor all day citing the absence of a sushi chef and the condensation that built up on the top of the little plastic covers that protected the general populace from the botulism that surely lay underneath. After a roughly twenty five minute wait «in an empty restaurant «we were offered the water we so desperately sought to wash down the taste of mediocrity and regain our senses to complete the trek to the «undiscovered country» that lay ahead of us.
The water, oh god the water was a welcome respite from the hour and a half of hell that this place so casually bequeathed. Our check arrived just as Phil Collins «In the Air Tonight» started, truly the greatest foreshadowing of what would be an evening of purging the unsavory blight of Kublai Khan from my body. If you are going for the gimmick you will be rewarded, with a stomach ulcer but look on the bright side…
The water is good.

The mongolian hot pot is fun and you can’t complain if it comes out bad since you’re the one shoveling the ingredients and spices in the bowl. You get a great big plate of food for the price. Definitely worth a visit for a cheap filling lunch when vietnamese gets old to you in the area.
Sushi conveyor belt is just a novelty that dresses up otherwise bad cheap sushi. Fish isn’t fresh, rice is gummy, and if it wasn’t on the conveyor belt whizzing by while you clap your hands, you might remember tasting the same grade stuff at HEB.
Go for the hot pot but pass on the sushi.

We finally made it to the place that replaced our beloved Habaneros, KKCMSF. Starting with the outer décor, we were fans of the Terracotta statues and upon entry, our opinion of the décor changed. We no longer felt as if were in a restaurant in Midtown Houston — — it felt, well, suburban. Suburban in the sense that it was spacious, the interior décor seemed a bit off. The ropes gave the restaurant a historical feel, the beer signs reminded me of a gas station, and the booths seemed «too nice» for a Kublai Khan themed restaurant. So, if the décor were reduced a bit, it would feel more like a restaurant in Midtown. :)
The food, however, was wonderful. My husband had the unlimited sushi dinner option for $ 13 and was able to pick his pieces right off the conveyor belt. Something about a conveyor belt reminds one of a carousel at a the circus, so it was a nice treat for us both. I, however, opted for the build your stir-​fry option for $ 12. There were so many options and the service was prompt.
All of this was topped off by a wonderfully nostalgic 90s radio station. We oddly loved hearing BsB, the Spice Girls, and Smash Mouth. It was wonderful.
Also, given how affordable it is, it’s a great place for visitors and family. The next time we need to take people out, we’ll bring them here — — otherwise, we won’t be rushing to return.

GO!
Affordable and fulfilling. Service was great. As a first timer, the waitstaff was able to make the experience quick and efficient. My only regret was not going for dinner. The sushi bar looked pretty awesome.
Be as creative as you want! I will definitely be returning.

My boyfriend and I went here two weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Our waiter, David was great! He made good suggestions and made us feel very welcomed; as did other waitstaff as they arrived for the dinner rush.
The rotating sushi bar was neat and had several tasty choices. The tempura shrimp appetizer was delicious! We’re definitely returning.

Good spot. Sushi is ok, but they gave my wife a deal for all you can eat sushi for $ 12.99, at which point the sushi became fantastic. I stayed with the mongolian bbq dish, lots of food, quite tasty. Good service. And they have st arnolds santo beer on draft, so we will be back.

I need to go here again to confirm my rating! The manager who gave us the tour said I could use as many ingredients that «gravity would allow.» So of course, I strategically PILED most of the meats — chicken, beef, and pork — veggies and TWO eggs until the bowl was overflowing and nearly toppling over. I picked udon and rice as my starches. I didn’t watch them cook the stir fry, through and I need to next time because I SWEAR they didn’t cook some of the meat as I saw NO beef. Maybe karma for being greedy though. At least they gave me a heck load of eggs. :D
My bf and I sat at the sushi belt, too, so we could get both experiences. The sushi didn’t look too fresh (going ’round and ’round) so we ordered off the menu instead. It was meh. The hirame was REALLY rubbery and I suspect it may have been tilapia. I would probably not like to «experience» their sushi again…
Overall, happy with the meal, especially the stir-​fry portion. I also want to experience their hh deal which I heard is awesome. Service was exceptional, as was the «sauce master.» ;)

I came here with a friend and we enjoyed the food and service. The entertainment was awesome. We laughed at the customer who had the weird «don’t touch me» vibe going on. Then there were the hilarious hijinks of the person who made faces at the sauces. Sure enough, another post on Unilocal!This time with two stars!
Entitled, Picky Jackasses of America — Unite on Unilocal

Note to all servers: I do not want t be touched. Ever. When I cringe the first time you place your hand on my shoulder, you should have gotten the message. When you touch it two more times and my death glares don’t even resonate, I am not returning.
I love that there is a new conveyor belt sushi place, too bad it isn’t any good.

Most of my friends rave about this place. What’s not to like? It has sushi on a conveyor belt, strutting in front of your face, tempting you «pick me pick me!» And it has the food bar to make your own Mongolian dish. And if you’re not creative you always got the menu to be able to order from. But I’m writing this review on behalf of gluten intolerant people.
The food bar has a nice selection of proteins, veggies, and sauces.
But that’s where I had my problem: the sauces. Me being gluten intolerant there were only three out of the selection of 12 to 15 that I could actually have. Those sacred three (coconut curry, spicy thai chili, and sweet and sour) were awfully close to the others that had the evil gluten in it. I kept eyeballing the ladles in the other sauces thinking «had they touched the gluten-​free ones? Did someone double dip from one to another?» And I wish I had looked at the gluten-​free sauces before I chose my selection of protein and veggies since that would’ve made a difference in what I would’ve selected. So anything with soy or teriyaki was out.
The good thing is you can let them know you have a food allergy and they will make sure that they clean the surface of the grill. The bad news is there isn’t much of a selection and there’s no way I’d grab an item off the sushi conveyor belt without being able to verify there was no battered stuff in it.

I’m disappointed that I have to write this review. I’ve been eating at places like this on the east coast for years, and I’m surprised to took so long for one of these to hit midtown. I really do hope this place gets it’s act together. I ordered potstickers as an app and went to the bar to select my main ingredients. My food came out really dry, and had to add more sauce. It also came out before my app. The waitress needs to get moving, the place was almost empty and she moved like pond water.
Now, this place bills the «moving sushi bar» and they indeed have one. However, I was there over an hour and did not see a sushi chef, and not one customer at the sushi bar. It was full of sushi items, endlessly rotating around on the conveyor but no one was eating. I started to wonder just how long the sushi had been sitting there…
I dunno. I’ll give this place another shot since it is very convenient.

Great place, fun atmosphere and they serve freshest food.

I have been accused by my friends of being pretty snobby about not going to «fake fast» Asian food places. This is true. I remember passing by this space every day on the way to Yoga One as it was being built. I remember my heart sinking when I saw it becoming a self-​proclaimed «crazy stir fry» place. The fake terracotta soldiers outside can be pretty scary at night, jussayin’. I can see why they would be helpful in protecting an emperor in the afterlife. I shrugged it off and told myself I’d probably never be caught dead at this place, anyways.
So, of course, as fate would have it on a lazy Saturday during the quiet lull between brunch and dinner after a good workout at 24 hour fitness, my friend decided to suggest eating at the sparkling new Mongolian Grill. Begrudgingly I relented.
The front bar area is pretty nice, it is half indoors with a covered patio area. They have a happy hour special which is a killer deal– $ 12.99 for all-​you-​can-​eat stir fry AND sushi bar. That means you can load up on any sushi from the conveyer belt!
Think of this as a create-​your-​own stir fry place… there are so many ingredients and things to choose from that you can start getting a little crazy about what to put in your dish (hence the crazy stir-​fry, I guess). The downside to this creativity is, well, there is a reason why restaurants wouldn’t hire me to cook their food. I put all the ingredients I liked into my silver bowl but they probably didn’t exactly complement each other so well in the end.
I chose udon as my «starch» (there are several types of noodles and rices to choose from). There are so many different sauces that it is a little overwhelming.
Fortunately, the guy at the front came in and proclaimed himself the «sauce king» and whipped together a combination of about 10 different things (I’m not exaggerating), then made me taste it. It was delicious.
My udon ended up being pretty darn satisfying, and the sushi was so-​so, but not great (I mean, it’s been rotating around on a conveyer belt for god-​knows-​how-​long at 4pm on a Saturday). The service was decent. The buffet deal definitely made this worth it.

This place is amazing!!! 12.99 for all you can eat sushi and Mongolian stir fry! What a steal! The staff are all very nice, and eager to get you what you want! I would definitely recommend to all of my friends!

Will, the manager is fantastic, try the Bloody Mary it’s great! They use Thai peppers, miso soup, and it’s topped with a jicama stick rolled in chili powder! Spicy, Devine :))