The reverse buffet

One of the things that drew me to India was the food. I never had Indian food growing up, and as such I was intimidated and unsure of it until I met Willy. He showed me the ropes, and I have learned to love Indian food over the course of our relationship. Moving to India has increased that love, as the food is so much better here. I am scared to think of how we will suffer when we get home.

The food is really, really good, and they cater to vegetarians. I LOVE that meat-eaters get the negative when they search for food; they are the “non-veg”. Living in an environment that embraces vegetarianism has made me really brave about the places that I will eat, and we have tried many, many new restaurants without a second glance. One of the offerings at just about all restaurants is the “thali”, which is essentially a plate that is divided into sections, or comes with small bowls for different dishes.

When you order a thali, you essentially get a full meal, dal, one or two gravies, rice, roti, curd or raita, and pickle. They are an excellent choice if you are eating alone or don’t like to share, as they give you a small portion of a few dishes. They are filling and offer variety.
One of our favourite lunch spots is a thali restaurant in the closest mall. It is better than just a thali restaurant, it is an all you can eat thali restaurant. Where they serve you. This place is full service; they wash your hands for you at the start and the end of the meal

You don’t have to get up and walk or roll to a buffet, waiters just bring you whatever you want, and stop when you don’t like something. There are condiments…

There are apps…

Gravies…

Breads, rice, dals, the whole deal

If one of your little dishes is empty, whoever notices will snap at the appropriate server and they will fill your dish. If you look like you are slowing down at any point, the sweets man will come around and offer you some desserts.

I love everything about this place. The staff is attentive, the food is delivered in a timely fashion AND is tasty, and it’s cheap. The entire experience, including taxes and tip was a mere $9.00CAD. Total. For the two of us. I’m gonna miss this.

Category: India, life | 4 comments

  • Chantal says:

    no kidding! I would miss that too. Maybe you should start up a resto like that here! But you can charge more. 🙂

  • Geez, I miss that and I’ve never even had it!
    I love Indian food. Jason had his first real taste on one of our date nights this past Spring. He loved it, too.
    We are looking forward to having it again soon. But, locally, the price is a bit steeper than $9.00 for a meal for two, so we are saving it for an occasion.

  • smothemrother says:

    oh man, how i love thali! and that parota looks delicious. i had trouble coming back and dealing with thte fact that none of the really good dishes are available in restaurants here. like pow bahji, or utapam. or thali! eat there every day before you come home! 😉


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