Seems like a good day for a Mongolian Scramble

Most times, all-you-can-eat is more-than-you-should-eat. But I do it anyway because I figure if I’m paying for it, I’m going to go for it. Then I usually end up hating myself for the rest of the day, and usually well into the next.

My first visit to HuHot Mongolian Grill was no exception to this rule. Except maybe in one way … I ate and ate and ate, but when I got up from the table, it looked like my pile of noodles and veggies and meat hadn’t been touched. It was like a magic plate of Mongolian goodness.

The cool thing about this place is that you get to concoct your own meal. You grab a couple of deep bowls at the beginning of the flash-frozen-meats and sufficiently-chilled-pasta and veggie tables, and start loading up: a tongful of pork; another of chicken; a couple tongs of Yakisoba noodles; a few scoops of mushrooms, broccoli, baby corn, snow peas, potatoes, spinach and black beans; a ladle of ginger broth; a couple of sesame oil and maybe an extra douse of red curry. (I let my imagination do the creative work by pretending I was gathering ingredients for an omelet or scramble, only instead of eggs I was using noodles.) Then you walk your brimming bowls to the guy at the grill — a monolithic circular capable of cooking at least a dozen meals at one time — and stand back to watch as he stir-fries your ingredients to perfection.

If you’re timid about the little-of-this, dash-of-that cooking method, you can look through a collection of recipe cards at your table before hitting the ingredient tables. My first attempt was good, although a little dry and disappointing, mainly because I skimped on the sauces. Next time I’m working from a cheat sheet.

Calorie-conscious? This link allows you to virtually build your bowls before you go, adding and subtracting ingredients until you get your mix just right.

Find HuHot Mongolian Grill at 11703 E. Sprague, in Spokane Valley.