Mongolia, a country more than 6,500 miles away, is known for its rich, unique cuisine, which is something that Ulzii Hughbanks is trying to bring to the North Shore.

Hughbanks, owner of The Funky Monk in Evanston, had never owned a restaurant before. She had business skills and some experience with restaurants, which she learned from owning a few salons in the area and helping out with the restaurant that her family owned in Mongolia. “I used to just manage bringing products [to the table] and the accounting,” she said, but owning a restaurant is completely different.

Hughbanks was faced with planning a menu and other seemingly simple tasks that proved more difficult. Even getting a lease was a challenge, Hughbanks said.

“They require a lot of experience in the restaurant business and it doesn’t matter what kind of business you’ve owned before.”

Despite the difficulties, Hughbanks was determined to open her very own restaurant. She saw the need for Mongolian and Russian food on the North Shore.

“Every time I wanted to find a place that, you know, makes me feel like home, I couldn’t find one,” she said.

Since leaving Mongolia in 2002, Hughbanks realized that she wasn’t the only one who was in search for a little piece of home. “When I owned salons,” she said, “around lunchtime, most of the girls from Mongolia or Russia were looking for somewhere to eat. That’s when I had the idea that I should open up a Mongolian restaurant.”

The restaurant itself, having opened to the public in August of 2015, is a quaint storefront on Church Street. Comfy booths line the walls, and old photographs hang overhead.

From the front door, you can see back into the kitchen, where pots and pans clang and the chef is likely flitting about.

Hughbanks hopes that The Funky Monk will eventually be known strictly for dumplings, which are their best seller. What sets them apart, she said, is that the recipes are all hers, back from Mongolia. Everything is made in the store, so it tastes homemade.

“I could tell they were homemade,” Amy Moser, a first time customer, said. “The dumplings were so flakey, not like something made in a factory.”
While the assortment of dumplings and fillings may already seem overwhelming to a newcomer, Hughbanks doesn’t want to stop there. “Right now we have beef, lamb, squash and potatoes but I would like to add some more,” she said.

While Hughbanks had cooked in the past, she’d only done so for her family. Cooking for the public is a completely different task.

“Well yes,” she said, “you really need to know how to do it.” Now, she works with a chef, who cooks all of the food served in the restaurant.

The menu, at first glance, may make a picky eater uneasy. Most people in the area have never heard of belyaji, pirojki, or samsy, let alone tasted it.

However, it’s worthwhile for anyone to give it a try, especially because The Funky Monk is one of the only restaurants in the area that carries the unique cuisine.

“I’ve never been there before,” Emily Flynn, a junior at New Trier, said, “but I definitely would consider going. I’ve never had food from Mongolia so it would be kind of cool to try it.”

The Funky Monk offers flakey, fried dumplings filled with tender beef for people willing to spend a few extra calories. But for those looking for a healthier option, the steamed dumplings are a staple.

Margaret Hughes, a junior at New Trier, tried The Funky Monk’s interesting food combinations earlier in the year. Originally shocked by the cuisine, she said, “I didn’t even know that type of food existed.”

It definitely expands the horizons of those who try it.

While many people may never go to Mongolia, The Funky Monk has succeeded in bringing a little bit of Mongolia to Evanston. “Evanston is so unique,” Hughbanks said. “People can experience different kinds of food when they come to see us.”