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The concept of buffet seems to have been around for a while. And the first thing that strikes our mind is the spread in terms of the varieties being served. The star hotel somehow seem to have large spreads compared to the restaurants that serve buffet food.
But even among those star hotels, there are many serving the contemporary cuisines part of the buffet. And then there is ‘Shangrila’ which serves one of the best buffets. It’s also been named aptly as ‘Mighty Lunch’. Coz its got for sure the biggest of the buffet spreads that I have seen. Its served at the B-Café restaurant in Shangrila which undoubtedly is one of my top favourite restaurant in town.
Ambiance
The restaurant in the Shangrila is quite huge and there are some great things in terms of the ambiance that I should be mentioned about.
- Clear segregation for each and every cuisine of food being served.
- Open counters where we can see the Chef cooking. Its more fun interacting and getting what you want from Chef rather than picking up something.
- Separate section inside and outside where nearly 6-8 cuisines are served. Some of them that I can recollect including – Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Italian and Arabic.
- There is a separate section where kids are allowed to become Chef by themselves and make something of their own.
- Section outside for drink lets you take a stroll and pick up drinks.
- Dance performance by the waiters while having food is also one of the highlights which I have not seen anywhere.
- DJ plays some wonderful numbers which are retro mixed with latest.
- Good amount of space lets you walk around freely and pick up food from any counter.
- Specially made desert that is shaped like an animal. And the day I went, it was the turn of Peacock. The chocolate desert was shaped like it and it was quite huge. A lot of effort has gone into making this chocolate desert.
- There is a nice section out in the open with some games for kids to enjoy. There is this bouncing castle which sure is the favourite among kids.
The experience can’t just have been written in words coz its beyond.
Location
I know that this a section I usually have it before the Ambiance but then I was so mesmerized writing about the place that I totally missed on writing about the location. So, for folks coming from the Chalukya signal i.e., Race Course Road from Majestic side, its easiest. Coz you will need to drive until the junction where the left leads to Golf Course side and the airport. The right towards the Vidhana Soudha. Straight drive for nearly 1/2kms leads you to the Shangrila on the left side.
Folks coming from Palace Ground will be able to see the entrance to the right side.
B-Café restaurant is on the ground level just across the reception area.
Food
It is quite important that I write about the food which is simply amazing. And the only warning here is that it is essential to try a little of all so that we can taste various food items. If we like something there is an absolutely necessity to control the emotion of eating more of it.
Molecular Bar at b-café
They say Chemistry is not like cooking, you are allowed to lick the spoon.
This is a very different kind of item that is available in b-Café wherein they have the small portions of daal in a calcium filled water. The daal when left in the water for few secs forms a droplet which is slightly tougher outside and soft inside. It is then served in a nice small cup and it’s supposed to be consumed in 1 shot. It is a completely different feeling eating it.
Similar to daal, other items are also made into droplets and served.
Italian
Pasta Street
This for sure is one of the favourites among foodies. In general, we end up going to the counter, asking for veggie to be put and mix it up with white/red sauce. It more like wishing for it and getting it done by Chef.
Stuffed Onion
I don’t remember trying this in the recent days. But the slight usage of spices and gravy added so much flavour in to the dish.
Zucchini with Feta Cheese and Yogurt
A wonderfully package starter which tasted pretty good. The flavours of zucchini and yogurt blended quite well.
Arabic
Arabic Veg Tazin
Another interesting dish which was more like the curry. The taste of it was on Arab styled. I am not every clear on the difference but I could make out that its not the way we Indian make the subji.
Grills of the day
There were grill veggies in this section which were sautéed with Arabic spices.
Apart from the grills are served at the seat wherein they bring a small grill machine that can be kept on the table. The grilled vegetables are made in front of us in our seat, which is simply awesome.
Sweet – Omali & Mohalabia
An interesting sweet which is famous in Arab was part of the buffet. Both the sweets tested very good. It was too sweet and not too less either.
Japanese
Sushi Market
Yasai Maki was one of the sushi’s that was available as part of the buffet. There were 2 varieties with different stuffing. But yes with the combination of wasabi, it tasted yummy.
Mexican
Tacos & Nachos
Ordered some Nachos and Tacos. But hands down the Tacos tasted quite good. This is a section that is outside on open.
Lebanese
Shawarma with Pita Pockets
This section did not have much choice for vegetarian but yes, the Pita bread sure did look soft and tempting.
Italian
Pizza Counter
Webber grill was being used and we could ask the chef to add the required topping. They were then added to the Pizza base and kept in the oven. It seemed so fresh to have it.
Continental
This was a section at the entrance of B-Cafe to the left. And this section serves the ‘Mezze’ which is s combination of sauces, mayo, hummus, cheese and other items served along with Pita break. The taste was awesome.
Thai
I tried the Yellow Curry which is the favourite among foodies. It tastes the best with some steamed rice.
Indian
This is another section that had all the Indian Curries, Roti’s and rice options. And for sure the taste was very good. The reason I say that is coz it’s hard to not make the basic right sometimes.
Chefs Smiju’s Special – Salad Bar
Variety of salad to help get the required fibre into the food. And yes, it’s quite easy to fill stomach with some salads.
Deserts
There were variety of cakes, chocolate, sweets that were there for picking. Amid the desert was the structure of a peacock made out of chocolate which looked like a real peacock. There was also chocolate fountains which is quite tempting for any chocolate lover.
There were also home-made ice-creams which tasted wonderful.
Drinks
This is setup outside for people go get a drink and get back to seat. If not, you can ask the waiters and they would help in getting any of the drink.
I tried Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Long Island Ice Tea Wine and Whisky-based cocktails. The taste was pretty fine. It may not give the taste like in a fine-dining restaurant, but yes on request the bartender would make the necessary changes to make it strong.
To wrap it all up, I had coffee just before ending the great afternoon.
Overall Experience
It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon spending having the wonderful and sumptuous meal at B-Café at Shangrila. And like always it is an ‘experience in itself’ having food. The hospitality is wonderful, the taste is awesome, ambiance is brilliant and I can’t think of any place currently to match the experience. It’s hard to find faults in this place which has not only Indian but loads of foreigner coming in. And on a Sunday, it was almost full and hardly any place to sit.
My rating for this place would be 4.5/5 and easily it is the best buffet place in Bangalore. The name is quite perfect and my sign-off thought would be to skip morning breakfast for being able to at least try more varieties in buffet.
Rating in various departments.
Food – 4.5/5
Service – 4.5/5
Ambiance – 4.5/5
Drinks – 4.0/5
Food for 2 would cost anywhere between INR3000-4000. The price of a single buffet without drinks would cost nearly INR1750 which is reasonable.
Sharing pic taken with foodie friends who were there during the buffet session.
Naveen Suren, Honey Islam, Ajit Induchan, Vidya Lakshmi, Debolina Ray, Tapash, Rohit, Jit Bose
