HuHot Mongolian Grill plays the Genghis Khan card at every turn. The sign for the midpriced chain, which has more than 30 locations in the nation’s midsection, including one that opened recently on North Academy Boulevard, sports a Mongol warrior replete with pointy helmet and droopy Fu Manchu mustache.

The menu orders hordes of diners marching into this all-you-can-eat stir-fry place to “Prepare for battle” by filling a bowl with noodles, veggies and meat from chilled trays; then “advance to the grill,” where their plunder sizzles and steams on a 7-foot circular hunk of scalding metal; then “take back your bounty” to devour at the table; and, finally, to “relive the conquest” by going back for more and more.

HuHot draws all the hokey battle analogies from lore that Mongolian barbecue originated with the Mongol army’s habit of cooking on shields over hot fires. In fact, most evidence suggests that the cuisine — essentially Chinese stir-fry — originated at Taiwanese theme restaurants in the 1970s. But so what? The important thing here is that if you like all-you-can-eat Chinese and you’re a do-it-yourself kind of person, HuHot is your place.

Grab a table and a server brings menus and drinks. The restaurant offers a “first conquest” of egg rolls, potstickers and other Chinese starters ($3.50-$9), but they are undistinguished and worth skipping.

Time before the meal is better spent studying a deck of recipe cards on every table. They lay out how to mix and match the sometimes overwhelming crush of meats, vegetable, noodles and 12 sauces at the buffet.

Some render recognizable favorites, such as beef and broccoli or pork fried rice. Others lay out the strategies of regulars who have submitted their recipes to the chain, such as “Vampire Repellent” from Brad in Des Moines, Iowa, or “Napalm in the Morning” from Eric in Sioux Falls, S.D.

I picked a card for something called “Curry up and Eat” and shuffled into the line.It starts with meat, sliced thin and hard-frozen to keep the health inspector at bay. Then noodles: Chinese, pad Thai or yakisoba. Then 22 fruits and vegetables, including such varied choices as cabbage, sprouts, pineapple and cilantro.

It’s worth looking up to see how others pile and pile until their bowls look like something out of Dr. Suess. These people take all-you-can-eat destructively seriously.

But save room for sauce, and bring a recipe card because you can mix and match, and it is easy to become overwhelmed by all the options.

My card called for sweet and sour, hoisin, Thai peanut, yellow curry, sesame oil, garlic oil and garlic broth. And while watching so much oil and sauce slather the veggies was a bit unnerving, I quickly learned that most of it would cook off on the grill.

This grill is a sight to behold, and kids will love it. It’s doughnut-shape and scorching hot. Six chefs move constantly around the hissing steel, clanking spatulas and working a heavy steel squeegee to make room for the next bowl. Someone grabs your raw materials and, a minute or two later, returns a steaming bowl of stir-fry.

They do a good job. The meat is cooked through but still moist. The grill blanches the veggies until they are hot but still firm, and much of the sauce (HuHot recommends six ladles) disappears in a wisp of steam that leaves a tasty balance of flavors.

My curry was pretty good, though next time I would add more heat. The spice ratings at HuHot are a bit inflated.

Everyone’s fixin’s are cooked next to the rest of the horde’s, and the grill is cleaned by only water and heat between bowls. So if you have food allergies or are vegetarian, tell the cooks so they can prepare a special spot on the grill.

HuHot is good and gets better each visit, as you learn what works and what doesn’t when building your bowl — the proper sprout-to-cabbage ratio or the right tincture of sweet and spicy sauces.

Is it creative and sophisticated? Not really. And for folks who go out to eat because they do to not have to worry about cooking, HuHot can feel like a chore. But the food is good, family friendly, there is lots of it, and if you don’t get what you want, you have no hordes to blame but yourself.

HUHOT MONGOLIAN GRILL3 STARS out of 5(sizzling)Address: 7790 N. Academy Blvd.Contact: 598-4044; huhot.comHours: Open daily, lunch 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; dinner 4 p.m.-closeEntrées: All you can eat $8.50-$13Vegetarian: YesLiquor: Beer and wineCredit cards: Yes

Jasen Mailander, foreground, and Jeremy Chavez, right, serve cooked dishes to patrons as the other grill masters stir-fry Mongolian food at HuHot Mongolian Grill. The franchise opened on North Academy Boulevard in late December. Photo by CAROL LAWRENCE, THE GAZETTE