After dancing the weekend away, I wanted a casual restaurant to get my Louisville eat on with my friend Morgan. I had heard positive things about Shah's Mongolian Grill & Korean Cuisine and Morgan was craving ethnic food, so we decided to venture over to see if it lived up to the hype.
I know buffets get a bad rap for not having quality, fresh food, and sometimes you leave feeling as if you have cumbersome rocks swirling around in your stomach. I must confess- I heartily loved this buffet. Shah's prides itself for not being an MSG-fest, and the pleasantly fresh ingredients really make an epic difference. Also, good service can make or break a restaurant. I was impressed with how welcoming (who I assumed) the owner was. She guided Morgan and me through the sea of options with enthusiasm. From make-it-yourself soup to salad to the Mongolian food bar, our appetites were ready.
Cue my internal alleluia chorus upon hearing there was house ginger dressing. The salad with ginger dressing unfortunately paled in comparison to my expectations. However, the soup was surprisingly rocketing with zesty flavor.
As Morgan pointed out, you could come to Shah's for years and never get the same order twice. In a hectic world, there is something refreshing and thrilling about the power of choice. We loved ladling out the sauces, from Schezuan to Mongolian to Teriyaki. You can hearken back to your college days with some tasty Ramen. For all you seafood lovers like me, there are even options of shrimp and calamari!
It was exciting to see the chef skillfully sizzle our food on the skillet before our eyes.
We savored each morsel, including delicious tofu that soaked up all the fried egg, sauces, and juices from the smorgasbord of buffet samples. I can't wait to return. I hope a classic movie like Grease is playing on the television screen next time as well. There is nothing quite like devouring carefully selected Korean delights while watching John Travolta shimmy on screen. It was a glorious melting pot.
Top Photo: Courtesy of Shah's Mongolian Grill's Website; All Other Photos: Julie Lamb
