Indian Buffet Palace
8 Oland Crescent
Bayer’s Lake
Halifax 405-8909
Rating: ***
Dinner for two with drinks: $25
Signature Dish: Tandoori Chicken
Signature Drink: Mango Lassi
It’s Saturday night and five of us are warmly greeted at Indian Buffet Palace. This non-palatial restaurant offers a buffet for $9.99. Dishes are from Northern India and vary daily. “It depends on what I want to eat,” the owner says.
We help ourselves to a lovely lentil soup, thick, steaming, hot and spicy. The server brings us Naan, fresh and warm. There are five dishes plus rice. Dal Makhani is lentils and kidney beans in onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic. Chicken Kofta Masala has chicken formed into meatballs in a ginger garlic sauce. Chicken Biryani has chunks of tender chicken.
Alu Ghobi is made of stir-fried potatoes with bits of cauliflower in a curry sauce. Mixed Vegetables with Tofu is the most interesting dish with onions, tomatoes, carrots and peppers. The tofu absorbs the spice and has rich flavour.
My yogurt-based Mango Lassi is a refreshing contrast to the heat. Everything tastes fine, but there’s a uniformity of flavour that is boring. The wonderful dimensions of Indian flavours aren’t on the menu quite yet.
Dining out
MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH Lord Nelson Hotel, 1515 South Park Street, Sunday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. $50 per person, including tax and tip. Call 423-6331 for reservations or visit www.lordnelsonhotel.com
MOTHER’S DAY ON THE LAKE Inn on the Lake, Fall River, features a special Mother’s Day menu, all day May 9, including Seacakes with Lobster Sauce and Halibut Steak with Grapefruit and Thyme Butter. Call 861-3480 or visit www.innonthelake.com
In brief
SOUTH SHORE TASTES Recipes from the Best Restaurants on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, has just been released by Nimbus Publishing. This fourth installment of the Tastes pictorial cookbook series is authored by Liz Feltham.
