Wok 'N' South Mongolian BBQ, Ventura

Wok 'N' South Mongolian BBQ

2835 E. Main Street

Ventura, CA  93003

The trick to eating at a Mongolian BBQ, or any buffet type restaurant for that matter, is to load up on the meat and expensive vegetables. Stay away from pasta, which is cheap and filling. 

I read that somewhere someplace, but that's how I approach all buffets, this one included. Wok-N-South Mongolian BBQ opened shortly after my family moved to Ventura, on the site of an old Chinese restaurant if memory serves, and I think the 4' Buddha that graces the door is leftover from those days. Back then, they'd send out coupons and my then small family would go pretty often. Everyone could make something that they'd want to eat.

Food Selection

The grill

My finished plate-note the lack of noodles!

It's pretty good and all you can eat, two things that I look for. However, as my kids get older, the prices go up. Currently, the cost is $12.49 for dinner (all you can eat), and $8.49 for lunch. (1trip). They serve beer and sake, as well as fountain sodas. The meals come with an egg drop soup, flat bread and fried sweet and sour won tons.

The same Asian couple has been there the whole time, and I thought they owned the restaurant until I looked at the website. They might be part owners or franchise owners-there are other Wok 'n' Souths in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks,  with (according to their website) the opportunities to open your very own Mongolian BBQ!

It's reasonably clean, friendly, and generally quick, though it does get crowded on weekends. The dining area does look a bit worn-I don't think it's been spruced up in at least the last ten years, but there generally ample seating with a couple of tv's. 

Like I said, it's a family favorite, and great when you have an appetite.

Boba-licious, Camarillo

Boba-licious Smoothies & More

1775 E Daily Dr

Camarillo, CA 93010

My in-laws live in San Gabriel, where a large Asian population has brought a variety of foods from the Far East, and so I was already familiar with boba drinks. If you aren't familiar, the quick explanation is that boba drinks are smoothies or flavored teas with a little chewie balls made from cassava or tapioca on the bottom. 

Not to be racist, but I've never seen white people working in a boba shop, so I was caught off-guard by the crowd inside of Boba-Licious when my daughter and I walked in. All the seats were taken by a crowd of middle-school aged white boys, apparently studying something on God. A white woman who was most likely my age greeted my daughter and I with a large smile and asked us what we would like. 

In the San Gabriel boba shops, there are large groups of students, too, but Asian, and generally speaking in some Asian language. And they usually have cigarettes, as well.

Back to Camarillo. My daughter ordered watermelon-pear, and I went with coconut-pineapple, which the woman happily went off to make. She saw me looking about and trying to figure out what the connection of all the boys was, and said something along the lines of welcome to the Boy Scouts study session for duty to God badge. The boys were a bit fidgety, but generally on task, and she shouted questions over her shoulder while firing up the blenders for our drinks.

Each one was $4.50, a bit on the high side, and they weren't bad. Not particularly good, but not bad. Bobal-icious is one of those places that might stay open for ever or close tomorrow. I wouldn't make a special trip, nor say no if someone I was with suggested stopping there. Though the women working seemed inviting enough, the feel of the place was cold and sterile. 

They serve ramen and have Ramune sodas-the ones with the marble inside.

 Not bad. Just not very out of the ordinary, which, as one of the few purveyors of boba in the area, isn't actually a good thing.