Your Late Night Just Got Spicier with Khan Skewer’s Happy Hour Eats

Here’s the scene: tables are full of folks downing towers of beer and putting away sticks upon sticks of spicy Mongolian-style barbecued meat, seafood and veggies while China’s CCTV screens in the background. The conversations are a lively mix of regional Chinese dialects, Mandarin and English. It’s like you stepped off an alley in Beijing, but you’re right here on Isenberg Street.

This is why: Khan’s food menu is 10% off from 9 p.m. until closing, which goes as late as 1 a.m., Thursdays through Sundays. This happy hour covers their signature barbecued lamb, beef brisket and pork belly skewers coated in a spicy blend of cumin, chile and peppercorns. The thing is, you don’t just order one stick at a time, they come in bundles of three or five, because you won’t want to stop once you start.

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Hot tip: Don’t be like us, order in multiple rounds to avoid overcrowding the warming tray.

Chicken skin, cartilage and gizzards bring the texture while heartier sticks of asparagus, mushrooms and quail eggs wrapped with thin pieces of pork belly bring the substance. The outside crisps over the flame while locking in the juices as their centers steam. Bite, have a sip of beer and repeat.

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Khan provides two dips: the first a tingling blend of cloves, chile powder, cumin and Szechuan peppercorn. The second, a fruity sauce made with pureed pineapple, apple and a hint of chile, for a sweet-acidic hit between the waves of spice. Both work together to add new dimension of flavor to the spiced skewers.

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In addition to skewers, Khan grills up oysters, scallops and lobster in their shells and gives them an addictive garlicky-scallion treatment. They also apply the same sauce to large, flattened eggplants, one of their most popular dishes.

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At the end and like all satisfyingly spicy meals, your table receives a complimentary sweet treat. Khan’s fluffy snow ice, with your choice of fruity syrup, is one of the highlights of the meal, but you have to earn it.

Although late night and happy hour have practically become mutually exclusive in recent years, it’s nice to know they are both alive and well at Khan Skewer Restaurant.

Open Monday to Wednesday, 5 to 11 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., 925 Isenberg St., Mō‘ili‘ili, www.khanskewer.com, @khan_skewer