mongolian barbecue
An Asian-type restaurant where customers mix their own ingredients for cooking on a griddle.
A Mongolian barbecue restaurant is an eatery where customers can select their own ingredients (including sauces and spices) and deliver them to cooks who grill or fry them on a hot plate, griddle, wok, frying pan, or any other cooking instrument. The ingredients tend to reflect Asian cooking styles. Many Mongolian barbecues offer all-you-can-eat services.
Contrary to its name, a Mongolian barbecue is not a barbecue and has little or nothing to do with Mongolia. The idea started in Taiwan and became internationally popular in the late 20th century.
Customers select ingredients and deliver them to cooks for preparation. Neither a particular cooking surface nor all-you-can-eat pricing is mandatory; both the griddle and the buffet-style pricing are examples.