Juicy Mongolian Lamb

Juicy Mongolian Lamb
Originally uploaded by blomsieroller.

This small unusual dish has a little story behind it. We tried to go to A Fun Ti Hometown Music Restaurant in Beijing, an Uyghur (Muslim) restaurant, but got lost in a jungle of construction. When we arrived in Shanghai, we were told to go to this place. It truly looked different from any Chinese place I had ever seen. China has something like 86 minority populations, and this is one of them. There was singing and dancing, and the menu included such delicacies as "Monkey Head Mushrooms in Chicken Soup" and "Beef Penis Tendon Flowerets with Strong Kidney Mushrooms and Ginseng".

We ordered lamb and bread. Sounds boring, and we thought that it would be relatively recognizable, but we were wrong. It turned out to be a thick, pizza-crust-like bread swimming in a thick broth, covered in braised lamb and veggies. When you cut the bread, the exposed side would soak up the yummy juice. We're still not entirely sure what it was, but it was delicious!