Tag: indian

Food Review: Lunch Buffet at Mehfil Indo-Mughlai Pak Cuisine

The popular new buffet (for lunch and dinner, 7 days a week)  Mehfil is a mostly Indian and Pakistani cuisine, and is located in the old Dixie Cafe on Rodney Parham.  I was very excited about trying it, I love Indian food and was looking forward to trying some new dishes I haven’t tasted before. Here’s the breakdown:

Environment

While the old Dixie Cafe brick walls are still there and feel familiar, they have spruced up the space. There is a more chic waiting/ lounge area near the door.

Photo from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/mehfilcuisine)

 

The restaurant is open with many tables in the buffet area.

Photo from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/mehfilcuisine)

 

Also, there is a bar area, where Dixie Cafe’s old ice cream parlor used to reside.

Photo from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pg/mehfilcuisine)

This restaurant seems like a great spot for private events. They even had a New Year’s Eve Party, full of dancing and eating. Seems like a fun place!

 

Food

The buffet is very large! The beginning of the line has a few house-made sauces, including a yogurt sauce and a killer mint chutney. (I didn’t try the others). There is also a salad and some assorted fruit with rice pudding and gulab jamun (doughnut balls in syrup for us new to Indian food) for dessert.

The rest of the buffet had 11 other items, not counting the na’an you get at your table. Some of my favorites included the vegetable pakora (fried veggie pieces, perfect for dipping into the many saucy dishes), chicken vindaloo that was so flavorful with a kick of heat, the kabob, and the vegetable qorma. My favorite item, though, was the chicken tika masala. It was rich and creamy and tasted a lot more similar to Indian dishes I’m used to around here.

There were a few dishes that I didn’t fall in love with, probably because they are so authentic and my pallet is too basic. And there were some dishes I didn’t get to try because there were soo many options!

Overall, the buffet is impressive with something for everyone…well, many somethings for everyone.

Drew and my set up. I don’t like my food touching. LOL

 

The absolute best part of the meal was the very delicious, very flavorful na’an that comes to the table. You get the option of plain or garlic. Of course I chose garlic! It had some chewy bites, some crispy ones….it may be the best na’an in Little Rock.

Overall, you have to try this place. It is authentic, the people are very friendly, and it wasn’t crowded for an early lunch on a Wednesday. Plus, it is only $10. So, let me know what you think of it!

 

Food Review: Flavors Indian Cuisine in Bentonville

This review is going to be short and sweet. There’s only so much you can say about near perfection.
First off, in my travels, I have been to over 20 Indian lunch buffets. This one is. the. best. Even better than Star of India in Little Rock. Even better than India Clay Oven in Branson. Even better than my previous favorite in Nederland, CO.  Here’s why:

The Environment

This restaurant has nothing special going for it, asthetic-wise. It is located in a shopping center. The inside is pretty bland. However, there is a whole room devoted just to the lunch buffet….because it is huge!

The Food

Here are pictures of most of the buffet. I did not get a picture of the section with salads and chutneys and other sauces, because I got too hungry taking pics of the other food. Sorry, not sorry.

There were so many options on this buffet, I only got to try about half of them before I could eat no more.
Some of my favorites included the “mix veg saag” which was a creamy paneer, full of not only spinach but plenty of other vegetables, such as peas and carrots. It was delightfully sweet and hearty, all at once. I think
The shahi paneer was also extremely tasty. While I am not a fan of the cheese blocks, the sauce was sweet with just enough kick of heat to keep it interesting. I think I dipped everything else on my plate into these two dishes. They were both my favorite versions of these specific dishes.
The butter chicken was also fabulous. One thing I noticed in all of the dishes was how finely chopped all of the veggies and meats are. This creates tender, easy to eat options, which I really enjoyed. So, the butter chicken was extremely tender (an issue I usually have with chicken dishes at Indian buffets are the toughness of the overcooked meat) and was definitely butter with just enough heat.
One interesting thing about this place is there some dishes with Asian influence. There are cold Asian noodles, which are quite refreshing in the heat of all of the heavier dishes. There were even chicken dishes with a sort of sweet-and-sour chicken flavor you would get at a Chinese buffet. These were nothing crazy good, but unique for an Indian buffet.

The na-an is found on the buffet, and I found it cooked perfectly. It had bites that were a little soft and chewy, and bites that were crispy and charred, my favorite! Though, no outstanding flavor. But when you are dipping it into all of those delicious sauces, who cares?!
On the table, we were given a gluten-free, very crispy cracker-type of bread. I am not sure what this was called, but it was a nice contrast of textures against all of the softer, chewier items.

For dessert, there was a deliciously spiced rice pudding (a lot of cardamon and cinnamon was detected) as well as those typical donut balls (sorry, don’t know the name and didn’t try them) and some mango custard, which was very tasty and helped calm down my acid reflux after this perfectly spicy meal.

Overall
My new favorite, must hit up, Indian lunch buffet. Not only was the buffet huge and delicious (I still need to go back to try half of it that I could not fit in my belly) but the service was very kind and generous. While we arrived at opening time (11:00 on a Friday), the buffet was not yet filled. So, the waitress asked us to wait about 10 minutes. In that time, we got our drinks, and almost every worker came by to chat. They asked how we were doing, if we had been there before, if we had any questions. It was not overbearing, but simply friendly and appreciated. On our way out, I was asked how the meal was and I ranted about how it was the best I have had. The smiles of pride given at that moment show how important this restaurant is to this family and its employees. They really care to be the best and make everyone’s experience top notch.
The price for this buffet was around $11 per person, which I believe was a steal. I ate…well, a lot. I can’t wait to see you again, soon, Flavors!