Let me disclose in the very beginning of this review; I’m not a buffet person, not at all. I simply can’t handle so many foods together and I end up with over loaded stomach. So no, buffet is not my forte though I don’t hesitate to stop by whenever I grab such opportunities.
Recently I got a voucher of buffet at MoMo Café, Hinjewadi from Zomato Team and I was there on a Saturday night.
As I had seen many reviews in Zomato, I dint have much expectations from the place. But to my surprise I found that the Momo Café is a decent place where we can dine occasionally with large group of people quietly, only if we want to have some typical Indian buffet.
Ambiance:
The first thing I noticed about this place was ‘it is quiet’; not busy on a Saturday night which I dint expect at all! The restaurant is on the ground floor, just on the right side of entrance. So you can have the peep of people dining over there. As I said before the place is decent but there is nothing much to talk about it.
Food & Beverages:
Quality wise the overall food was just similar to any other standard restaurant; neither too good nor too bad. Though few dishes did exceptionally bad for a restaurant of a five star hotel. There was a good variety on Indian cuisine whereas the continental has only one dish and oriental has two dishes which is pretty lame for a multi-cuisine restaurant’s buffet. So if you are not a lover of Indian cuisine this place is definitely not for you.
There were two soups, one veg & one non-veg which is standard. But there were only two appetizers as well, one veg & one non-veg, which is too little as per my personal preference.
Here is the list of what we had tasted and what I think of them.
Tequila sunrise:
Amount of alcohol is so little that I actually misunderstood it as mocktail and it was way too sweet to call a cocktail!
Chicken noodles soup:
Soup was thick and kind of starchy though chicken was well cooked and tasted decent.
Chicken kebab:
This is probably the worst dish I ever tasted in any restaurant. First of all there was no seasoning at all and top of that grilled chicken pieces had rubber like texture on the exterior & pale pink color in the core. It actually ruined my entire appetite.
Paneer kebab:
Though I avoid paneer due to my lactose intolerance I tried this to fix my taste buds after that soggy rubber like chicken pieces. And surprisingly it was good; paneer was soft and delicate and perfectly seasoned. But one thing actually annoyed me about the condiment; they should’ve provided it separately as it is bit problematic to dip your food in condiment from the same plate when you are eating in a group.
Fish orange salad:
This cold salad was very well balanced and tasted nice (first good thing on plate). Fish was well cooked and well-seasoned. The sweet oranges and tangy cherry tomatoes along with the lettuce were so refreshing as a summer salad.
Healthy chickpea salad:
Boiled chickpea were sautéed in spices with thinly sliced onion and tomatoes. This tangy mild spicy salad was burst of flavors after the fish salad. And they bring back my appetite alive!
Peking fried rice:
Rice was good and well-cooked but sadly the flavor was not Peking style. It tasted like any other fried rice.
Steamed veg noodles:
Again noodles was bit starchy and blunt. The amount of veggies was very less for a veg noodles.
Fish in black bean sauce:
This is only dish which I actually loved here and finally had something on my plate which is worth trying. Batter fried fish tasted fine in black bean & soy sauce gravy with crunchy peppers. Fish was well cooked & well-seasoned.
Chicken a la king:
It is the only continental dish I could find that day on buffet table and sadly it was a disappointment. Chicken was over cooked; white sauce was blunt and runny. The only good thing in this dish was the crunchy veggies.
Mutton roganjosh:
I wanted to ask do they really know what roganjosh is!! Cause the dish which was presented there on buffet table behind the ‘Mutton roganjosh’ name card was nothing but a regular mutton curry with tons of bones. Honestly, I still don’t know what to call this mutton in runny curry with onion slices in it.
Murgh lahori:
This is another good dish which saved my evening. Chicken was perfectly cooked and moist inside and thick gravy was well seasoned and very balanced in taste.
Butter naan:
When most of the food failed to impress I was in second thought on whether to order naan or not. But they served us soft chewy hot naan within 10 mins of placing the order. That was quite impressive to me as I wasn’t expecting anything at all.
Rasmalai:
Simply not worthy! Freezing cold rasgullas are dunked into way too sugary milk. I couldn’t finish even one.
Phirni:
Yes, another thing I loved there. Very light yet grainy phirni with loads of almonds and saffron with mild sweetness; just the way phirni should be. The only thing is this phirni was slightly runnier than usual but that’s completely ignorable on a buffet.
Mung dal halwa:
I’m not a fan of halwa yet tried here and I quite liked it. The aroma of roasted dal with nuts helped me to finish this off.
Danish egg pudding:
Regular egg pudding and completely passable.
Red velvet cake:
Nothing great to be talked about actually, sponge is fine and mildly sweet which I personally prefer.
Coconut chocolate cake:
I loved the combination of sweet coconut and dark chocolate and the sponge was quite good in taste.
Mango mousse cake:
It is the most common dessert which you will find in any buffet menu and these are typically with heavy cream and basic sponge. Nothing was different here.
Service:
If my naan comes within 10 mins of placing order from a busy kitchen during pick hours I consider it as good service! So, service was quite good here at momo café and Staffs were extremely polite. Even within seconds cutleries were replaced. There are plenty of restaurants where I need to ask for the same repeatedly!
Pros:
Calm and peaceful ambiance,
Service.
Cons:
Food quality,
Lack of variety in buffet,
Not value for money.
Cost:
INR. 900 + tax per person.
Verdict:
Will I go back? I don’t think so.
Rating: 3/5
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