Tents on the table told us the specials in terms of drinks were Ganne ka ras and lime juices. So a pitcher of ganne ka ras for mom and husband and lemon juice it was more me. Nice, fresh and refreshingly cold.
Cafe Masala has a wide range of starters in vegetarian and non-vegetarian which they bring on copper tandoors with a few coal embers.
These comprise Prawn and chicken starters that were brought to the table. Loved the prawns. The masala was not too spicy and the prawns fried just enough. The chicken was good.
Fish with a green masala based coating that was largely mint, coriander and bit of curd and spices mixed in. Despite being Mangalorean, I am picky about fish in restaurants, but this one was pleasant and nice.
Paneer next with slices of capsicum and tomato. The paneer was nicely singed on the outside and soft on the inside. Pop them into your mouth with a bit of capsicum and tomato and its a bite worth the effort.
Aloo and sesame tikkis. These were as tasty as they were pretty to look at. All of these starters are unlimited. Next comes the actual buffet. Before the salad counter there is also a soup counter. There is always a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian option. There are also the customary breads to go with it. The salad counter is all vegetarian with the occasional non-veg option thrown in. There was a vegetable and fruit salad, one with fried okra, a radish based salad and more.
This is followed by a range of crispies in the form of papads, fryums and the like. You then have a dry and gravy based chicken. Plain rice and dal and a mutton dum biryani. This forms the non-veg section. After this comes a chaat section where you can put most of what you like together as you can see below. There was also the lone curd rice thrown in for good measure.
The vegetarian section followed with a veg au gratin figuring amidst paneer gravy, fried okra, a veg biryani and dal makhni. Towards the end is placed the relatively big dessert counter. There is the customary chocolate fountain with marshmallows, biscuit rings and chocolate cake that can be skewered and dipped. There was also a range of cakes and tarts to choose from as well as three ice creams that you could scoop to your hearts content.
Service here is brisk and it is almost always with a smile.
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