It was even better than that. The three groups (Mongolians, Japanese & Americans) took turns singing and dancing for hours. The Mongolians taught us some dance that involved waving flags around. They said it was traditional, but given the era it was probably "We Dance in Praise of the Workers, Students, and Peasants Who Are the Pillars of the Revolution." We did a sort of square dance while singing Turkey in the Straw. The Japanese sang, but didn't show us any dances. It was a real hoot watching the Japanese attempt the hokey pokey. They were all older folks who were trying to be good sports. We kept running into them on the trip. You could only travel in China as part of a group and I guess there was an official Inner Mongolia "circuit." At one dinner, the Japanese were singing "Happy Birthday to You" in Japanese to one of their group. We joined in. They were surprised that American would know this song.
More food related: We were required to have local guide in each place we visited, although the guide from our Hong Kong tour company was perfectly capable. In Shanghai, there was a shortage of English-speaking local guides (travel in China or Americans had just opened up). A school teacher who was fluent in English (I never learned how) was informed that he had developed a sudden urge to be a tour guide during the summer. He was a very nice man and an excellent guide. He was constantly wanting to take a break for a Coca Cola. None of us really liked Coke, so we kept turing him down and he always seemed very disappointed. Then the guide from the Hong Kong company tipped us off. Coke had just come to China but could only be bought with the equivalent of hard currency in Friendship Stores. Most Chinese were not allowed to possess the currency or to enter the stores. The local guy had fallen in love with Coke and buying it for foreigners was his only access to it. So we suddenly became Coke fiends. We'd usually ask for the bottle unopened go we could just give it to the guide.
Good stuff, nutrax.
One (not entirely traditional) version of the hokey pokey for the unenlightened.
And another even less so.
I have eaten at the Mongolie Grill in Whistler, Vancouver and Calgary and got sick at all three (in Calgary, twice!). I'm not saying don't do Mongolian barbecue... but try to avoid the Mongolie Grill family of restaurants.
We were totally underwhelmed by the Mongolian Grill part of the China King Buffet, in Little Rock, AR.
So far, I'll go to a Chinese buffet (The Beijing Buffet in So. San Francisco was above average) but I don't see the point of waiting in line in those places to have your foods cooked in front of you. There's food already made!
There are a couple of those 'Mongolian' places on Broadway-if the one OP is talking about was in Vancouver I walked by it this afternoon.
It's a gawdawful greasy mess made on a grubby/rusty piece of sheet metal-one has to either tough or stupid or both to eat crap made like that-Yechhh!!
On the other hand, Taiwanese-style teppanyaki (which is made the same way, but on a stainless steel flat top grill) is bloody amazing.
Was it the Mongolian Grill in Edmonton, islandboi (since moved 3 or 4 times and closed for health issues)?
It was very good at the time....there is a Mongolian fast food joint now on 178th that is pretty good.
What you describe are called green onion cakes here and are a staple item at many festivals, food courts and restaurants ranging from Chinese to Vietnamese to Thai to Indian. It is a bit of a local phenomenen.
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