By Aaron Williams
Located in close proximity to the University of Louisville Belknap Campus, Shah’s Mongolian Grill promotes itself as having “a taste for every taste.” Upon venturing inside, students are greeted with a dining experience they might expect from an eatery located near a college campus.
As you walk into Shah’s, you’ll immediately get a feel for its hang out vibe. It is not your traditional oriental restaurant. A plasma TV is set up on the right wall, tuned to MTV 2, for patrons to enjoy while they eat. The radio can be heard playing Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie” over the sound system.
The dining area itself is a small arrangement of tables and chairs, but it is both welcoming and appropriate for the atmosphere. Customers can give their order at the register, after perusing the nearby menu. Shah’s offers a variety of entrees and side items. The top items on the menu include the pick one, pick two and pick three options, priced at $4.99, $5.99 and $6.99, respectively. These options allow customers to choose between one, two or three meats, to be combined in a bowl with fried veggies, the option of an egg, and the choice of a plethora of sauces.
Shah’s offers beef, chicken and turkey as meat options. If students are looking for something different from those, Shah’s also offers shrimp with veggies and fish with veggies as entrees. Once an entree is chosen, the very polite employees behind the counter will ask whether you would like rice or noodles with your dish. After selections have been made, a variety of vegetables are offered, including potatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cabbage, onions, broccoli and carrots. After the dish bowl is packed with hardy portions of veggies and meat, it will be time to choose the sauces. Options include sweet and sour, teriyaki, curry, sesame, lemon, veggie oil and many, many more.
For those not looking to go with one of the pick options, Shah’s offers other entrees, such as fried Parmesan tilapia or grilled chicken. Even though these are the most expensive items, they will only run you $7.99. Other choices include traditional oriental staples, like kung pao or sweet and sour chicken. In addition, the Mongolian grill has a nice selection of oriental and occidental side items, ranging from egg rolls and crab rangoon to french fries and cheese sticks. These items vary in prices, ranging from $1.50 to $3.99.
Whatever the decision, after the employees prepare the food, it is then taken to a visible grill behind the counter and a chef comes out to cook the ingredients into a mouth watering blend. Once every order is prepared and customers are ready to consume the steaming meal in front of them, the last thing left is the choice of beverage. Shah’s offers fountain and bottled drinks for the under-21 crowd and, for those of age, there are $1 and $2 beer menus.
Once the meal is over, or perhaps during its course, some visitors may wish to take advantage of another offering of Shah’s: hookah. Sampling the house favorite flavor, purple haze, I can tell you the smoking experience was smooth and very tasteful. Watermelon, cotton candy, red cherry – the flavor options are too many to list. A single-hose hookah will cost $9.99.
All in all, the Shah’s dining experience was comfortable, friendly and very affordable. The food was delicious and the hookah was a nice addition to a great, filling meal. You will get your money’s worth at Shah’s Mongolian Grill.
