Rich and I are always down for Indian food and as a (pre) Valentine's Day dinner, we decided to dine at Bombay Buffet Palace on a Friday evening.
After some calling around to different restaurants, we decided on this one for several reasons: it had a wide variety of dishes including pani puri and desserts, they don't add ghee or butter to their vegetarian options, fresh naan bread and there was a coupon for B1G1 50%...and I'm always a sucker to a good deal.
We arrived to the restaurant late. Like, 8:45pm late. It was pretty quiet inside, with a large group at the back and a couple of people near the side. We were greeted promptly and seated, but were off to get plates of food moments later after placing our order for naan. After all, it is a buffet.
Rich was able to eat four of their vegetarian specialties, including:
- Channa Masala (Garbanzo beans cooked with onions, tomato and spices in a tamarind sauce)
- Eggplant Bharta (Grilled over charcoal, mashed than cooked with fresh tomatoes onions and spices)
- Vegetable Jalfraize (Fresh garden vegetables stir fried)
- Dal Makhani (Black lentils simmered in creamy gravy with tomatoes, onions and mild spices)
- Palak Paneer (Freshly chopped spinach and homemade cottage cheese)
- & one other veg dish that eludes my mind
- Vegetable Pakoras
- Naan bread, no butter
- Saffron and.or plain rice
I however, was so excited about it, that I forgot to snap a photo before I went into beast mode. It consists of fried, crispy, thin and
hollow rounds filled with potatoes, vegetables, chickpeas and a variety
of chutneys and sauces. It's a mix and match kind of thing and you make it the way you want it. It reminds me of what could be the Indian
version of loaded nachos, but better. The perfect marriage of sweet,
spicy and salty, crunchy, soft and tender. I could eat it all day long!
Not long after I moved on to try everything else that was on the steam table. Since there weren't too many people dining, the portions on display were small, but the staff regularly maintained it making sure to refill the pans as needed, keeping the food hot and fresh.
Available meat dishes included:
- Butter Chicken (Tandoori chicken cooked in an exquisite tomato cream sauce)
- Tandoori Chicken (Spring chicken marinated overnight in a special mix made with yogurt and spices, skewered and grilled over a live flame)
- Beef Curry
- Goat Curry
- Chicken Biryani (Chicken marinated with spices and saffron then steam cooked with naturally fragrant Basmati rice)
- & one other veg dish that eludes my mind
While we were already ridiculously full, I just had to make room for dessert. They offered fresh fruit (cantaloup), six flavours of ice cream and Gulab Jamun (a deep fried milk based donut, soaked in a rose and cardamom scented sugar syrup). I haven't always enjoyed the latter, but eventually grew to appreciate it as long as it's served room temperature or cold. In addition to doughy sugary goodness, I indulged in a small scoop or banana ice cream and mango ice cream.
Now that I think of it, the two would have been perfect eaten together! I'm also thinking that those crisp little puri crisps would make an excellent crunchy addition to naan bread, adding a little texture to my meal. Dammit, next time.
The food and service was great- as soon as our glasses were half empty, our waiter would immediately refill them. I liked that the food wasn't overly greasy and I didn't feel horrible with regret afterwards. I can't wait to return!
Bombay Buffet Indian Cuisine (Bombay Buffet Palace)
795 Markham Road,
Scarborough, ON M1H 2Y1
416 431 5577
