Mongolian Barbecue (1958); Barnyard Epithet (1960)

[Russ McClay]

Hi Barry --

Couldn't help throwing something out on this one. I have lived here
in Taipei since 1987.

Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      Mongolian Barbecue (1958); Barnyard Epithet (1960)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> MONGOLIAN BARBECUE
>
>    A little earlier, and from Taiwan.
>
>
>    23 June 1958, MONROE COUNTY NEWS (Albia, Iowa), pg.5, col. 4:
> _Formosa Bids_
> _For Tourists_
>    TAIPEI--(UPI)-- (...)
>    Restaurants specialize in the cuisine of the various Chinese
> regions--everything from Mongolian barbecue to Cantonese dumplings, pork, beef, chicken,
> and fish spiced and bedazzled with sauces that impart tastes as indescrible
> (sic) as a fourth primary color.

Indeed.  In cosmopolitan/modern Taipei and undoubtedly elsewhere on the
island, a Mongolian barbecue is a wonderful and welcome dinner.

The traditional Mongolian barbeceue here starts out buffet style.  You
take a bowl and select the things you want from a vast layout to be
later prepared by the chef [the Shr-Fu (Master)].

The chef stands next to a gigantic fixed skillet. Roaring gas jets of
fire underneath. Common size is about 6 feet in diameter.  Thick iron.

He (never seen a she) throws in the contents of your plate, mixes in
various ingredients...vinegar, peppers, soy sauce as your
preference with enormous chop sticks and then refills your
bowl with the stirred-fired result.

The Taiwanese love "Mongolian barbecues".  Really, there is
something very exciting about watching a proficient chef working
skillfully with the bits you've selected.

The Mongolian barbecue is locally called Mung-Gu Kao-Ro.
Translation: Mongolia Barbecue. Heh.

Bi-lingual Menus and signage for these restaurants here usually use
exactly: Mongolian Barbecue.

Thanks, Barry, for all your enthusiastic work.  I was off-list for
a year or so, and find you [as well as many other old-time
regulars] creatively active as ever.

Russ