Mongols at the Gate

You must squeeze through an ill-conceived pedestrian corral beside the mega-block construction site near Grand Gateway to finally reach the illuminated portal of this prehistoric Mongolian hot pot. It is a return to an era before the dainty Han tribes started cultivating their little sheep in Shanghai. Meng Gu Wang (Mongolian Bone King) has old bows and arrows on the walls and pays grunting homage to the carnivore by shoving piles of crudely chopped lamb bones into the side pocket of a two-chambered hot pot (YY48). The marrowy broth washing the bones is said to prolong life, and the meat is excellent. This tongue-tingling broth, filling the red hemisphere of the great bowl, is concocted from 30 ingredients--the high notes are cloves, cassia and tumeric. For a riverside Neolithic experience, add a "small" tray of mala crayfish (YY18.08) and rip them open with both hands. If all this is too tactile for you, there's an array of lamb stir-fries and smoky skewers as well. This restaurant is busy, bodacious, cheap and good. --Katya Knyazeva