Upscale Indian Buffet @ East India Company

East India Company is a well known establishment in Winnipeg. I find most Indian restaurants gain popularity through either serving value or class. East India Company is the latter. Located in the middle of downtown in a beautiful building with a sprawling billboard, this is the type of restaurant you would take a business colleague to ... or have a big company event at.

Which is exactly the problem I ran into when I stopped by East India Company for a quick meal. Initially I thought the restaurant was closed for a private event, but it turns out they kept a few tables open for the public.

The restaurant is quite large, well decorated and has an air of class. East India Company was heavily touting their buffet that night. As someone who typically enjoys the value of Indian buffets, I had no choice but to oblige =).

Appetizer plate includes (from bottom going clockwise): Vegetable Samosa, Vegetable Pakora (deep fried vegetable fritter), Masala Chicken Wings, Papadums with numerous chutneys and sauces, various salads. Special mention goes to the cauliflower and cabbage dip (at ~2 o'clock in the picture) which was a wonderful mixture of sweet, sour and spicy.

Vegetarian plate includes (from top going clockwise): Bhindi Malasa (Okra curry), Saffron rice, Chana Masala (Chickpea curry), Navratan Korma (Paneer and vegetables in a white curry), Palak Paneer (Paneer with spinach), Punjabi Kadi (Deep fried pakora in curry sauce), Dal Makhani (Lentil curry) and Sambar Vada in the middle (Deep Fried Chickpea Indian doughnut). Big fan of their Palak Paneer with smooth paneer in a rich creamy spinach sauce.

Meat plate includes (from top going clockwise): Beef Curry, Aloo Ghobi (Cauliflower and Potatoes), Garlic Chicken, Imitation Crab Curry, Tawa Chicken Tikka, Murg Bahar (Butter Chicken), Nihari Gosht (Muslim Goat Curry), Fish Curry, Shrimp Malasa and Murg Tandoori (Tandoori Chicken) in the middle. Special mention goes out to the Taka Chicken Tikka which compromised of generous portions of chicken in a delectable masala sauce.

Naan is usually a given at most Indian restaurants. Here East India Company make the customer pay extra for Naan. An odd choice for a buffet and one that reeks of a company trying to nickle and dime their customers.

Desserts were varied but I was far too full to properly enjoy them. Left to right: Indian Mango Mousse, Vanilla Ice Cream and Halva (a Indian sweet) roasted with pecans.

Overall a highly enjoyable meal. I find their prices are in the upper range and am disappointed in their choice to charge for Naan, but the vast variety and quality of the buffet items makes up for those small critiques.