A (Very) Short History of Mongolian Food in Los Angeles

When it dawned on me how little Mongolian food I've eaten in Los Angeles, I decided it would be worthwhile to document these episodes since they were so few in number.

The first Mongolian restaurant in Los Angeles is actually lost in history.  Roughly 15 years ago posters on the Chowhound Los Angeles message board reported that a Mongolian restaurant had opened somewhere around the corner of Normandie and Beverly Blvd. in Koreatown.  However, it was open for such a short period of time, by the time I got there they had closed.

In 2015 I had better luck with the opening of Golden Mongolian on Wilshire Blvd., also in Koreatown where there is the closest thing to a Mongolian community.  Strangely they also served sushi.  But the Mongolian food was legit like this kuurshuur.  This was also the first time that a stranger ever called my name out in a restaurant.

 

The restaurant is now known as Arag Mongolian.

 

Then in 2020, a restaurant in Torrance called Nadima Sushi added Mongolian food to their menu and the name of the restaurant.  But when I got there I was told that the Mongolian chef wouldn't arrive until the afternoon.  So I went away disappointed, though I did have some sushi.

  

But last year represented the start of a new era in Mongolian food with multiple restaurant openings.  First came Mongolian Home Made Pies in Rowland Heights opening in an upscale, spacious setting, and spawning a second branch in Monterey Park.

 

Meanwhile the eclectic Northern Cafe chain opened up its own Mongolian pie restaurant in Rowland Heights called Glowing Pie.

 

But the latest development is the opening of Xibei, a large restaurant chain actually based in Inner Mongolia.  Taking over the space in the Santa Anita shopping mall in Arcadia formerly occupied by powerhouse Meizhou Dongpo, they have truly brought Mongolian food into the mainstream, with a wide variety of dishes.

This is their signature honeycomb sweet and sour oat noodle dishes.  Strangely, it was the only thing on the menu that we didn't like.

 

 On the other hand, the cats ears oat noodles with beef was absolutely fantastic.

 

Perhaps a slight cut below, but the chicken oat noodles were also excellent.

 

Angus beef rib.

 

Chilled golden millet sticky rice

 

 Mongolian cheese flatbread.

 

Steamed oat dumplings

 

Lamb shu mai

 

At this point it looks like Mongolian food is here to stay.