Sarah Hsieh

A waiter sets out new plates and chopsticks at a table on a Saturday at Tie Mu Zhen. According to restaurant owner and head chef Alex Wu, one of the hardest parts of preparing any dish with lamb is finding the right meat. “Here [in the Bay Area], we try to find meat similar to the ones back in Inner Mongolia,” Wu said “America’s lamb meat is both expensive and tastes very different, so we buy Australian lamb, which tastes more similar.”

Featuring soup with oat noodles, lamb shaomai, roast lamb ribs and more, Tie Mu Zhen provides authentic Inner Mongolian food to the Ventura neighborhood on El Camino Real in Palo Alto.

The restaurant opened late November, and recently became a candidate for Asia Star TV’s annual “The Best Asian Food in the USA” competition.

Inside the restaurant, rows of neatly covered tables for four line the room, and posters explaining the history of oat noodles and lamb shaomai — some of the restaurant’s most iconic dishes — hang on the walls. The sound of classical piano music plays in the background, setting a calm and refined atmosphere.

Alex Wu, the restaurant owner and chef, said that he opened this restaurant to bring attention to Inner Mongolian food.

“I’m from Inner Mongolia,” Wu said. “I wanted to cook something from there and share it with people so they know of it. Tie Mu Zhen, who you may know as Genghis Khan, is a hero to us Mongolians. I wanted to let people see the restaurant’s name and immediately know we served Mongolian food.”

According to Wu, the food on the menu is carefully selected to give a taste of Inner Mongolian culture that is palatable to the people in the area, and that people with a taste for Northern Chinese cuisine may also enjoy the food here.

“The people who come here are often from North China, because Inner Mongolian food and Northern Chinese food share many similarities,” Wu said. “We do still take into consideration what would suit the taste of the people here when selecting dishes for our menu. For example, some Inner Mongolian cuisine takes longer to make and uses fattier meat, which a lot of people here don’t like, so we try to avoid those types of dishes.”

After sitting down and placing my order, the food arrived quickly. Here is what I thought:

Soup with Oat Noodles ($24.98) – 8.5/10

The lamb soup with oat noodles is a dish that everyone who comes here should try at least once. The lamb was tender and not overpowering, and the radish was slightly firm but still soft. The soup was delicious, with a flavor similar to that of beef noodle soup but with a light taste of lamb. However, what truly made this dish special was the unique shape and texture of the oat noodles, which had a rigid shape like a screw. Though the noodles themselves are flavorless, their unique shape provides a distinct texture, while the soup supplements all the flavor.

Lamb Shaomai ($15.98) – 8/10

Six lamb shaomai were served in two metal steam baskets stacked on top of each other. Similar to the soup, the lamb was also very tender and light in flavor, although it was more minced in texture. The scallions inside were an enjoyable addition that added a fresh contrast to the lamb. However, the wrapping was slightly thick, which occasionally made its taste overpower the lamb filling.

Roast Lamb Ribs ($28.98) – 9.5/10

The roast lamb ribs were served over a bed of lettuce with sesame seeds and spices sprinkled over them. The skin was crispy and had a satisfying crunch, while the sesame seeds and spices added another layer of texture. The lamb was even more tender than it was when served in the soup and shaomai, and also had a stronger, more distinct flavor.

Savory Chicken Platter with Pancake (Boneless Chicken) ($30.98) – 7.5/10

The savory chicken platter with pancake featured generous amounts of chicken bathed in soy sauce and bell peppers, with pieces of bread lining the plate. The bell peppers were well-cooked and crunchy, and the bread was soft and tasty. The sauce was a little salty and deeply savory, which paired deliciously with the bread. Alas, this dish fell short with the chicken, which was slightly dry and tasted ordinary.