Sizzling Dhaba - Solid Indian Buffet

There are some days when I wake up with a craving that does not go away. Even when stocked with a full refrigerator that could last me weeks, I find the need to go out and dine on some of the ethnic cuisines that I currently do not have the ability to keep up with. One of those guilty pleasures is Indian food ... ever since I was a child, I loved the combination of spices that play a bold dance on my taste buds combining ingredients and flavours that were both new and similar to me. Finding a new Indian place therefore always comes with excitement and energy ... which I took to Sizzling Dhaba.

Located in St. Vital, Sizzling Dhaba is a mom and pop owned Indian restaurant. Pleasant and appealing to the eye, the exterior of the restaurant screams modern modesty, and the interiors are just the same. They offer a nice variety on their ala carte lunch and dinner menus, but the true treat is in their buffets which offer a collection of tasty high quality Indian dishes at an affordable rate. Being someone who only typically dines ala carte, I have always kept a keen fondness to Indian buffets and thus could not resist today.

Appetizers here include a Chicken Somasa, Aloo Tikki (fried potato and onion snack), Onion Bhaghi (fried onion fritter) and a collection of sauces and chutneys. I was overall impressed by the non-greasy starters and felt the size and overall flavour within reach of regular ala carte options. The onion bhaghi was not overly doughy and had a nice aroma surrounding it while the samosas were stuffed to the brim with potato and peas (nary a chicken was in site unfortunately).

Vegetarian options include (top going clockwise) a creamy Vegetable Korma, a spinach based Palak Paneer, soft and tender chickpea Chana Masala, tender paneer and peas in their Mutter Paneer, and flavourful aromatic lentils in their Dahl Makhani (in the middle). While everything tasted fine there was no wow factor in any of these dishes. I found the korma missing the usual thick creaminess, the palak paneer missing its kick of spice and the chickpeas in the chana masala too overcooked and mushy.

Thankfully the meat options are excellent with the usual Tandoori Chicken, a mouth burning Beef Vindaloo, a tender Goat Curry and the always popular Butter Chicken. I was impressed by the impressive tenderness found in the goat curry and thought the interplay between the meat and the tomato based sauce was excellent. The butter chicken was an unusually lighter variant that was less creamy but more aromatic than the usual store bought versions, a change that sat well with my now bulging stomach. The vindaloo and tandoori meats were as expected.

Included in the meal is a piece of Naan Bread. I have to fault Sizzling Dhaba here for their imitation Naan that was more of a flatbread than the Tandoori raised equivalents found at other Indian restaurants. Thick and doughy, these breads did a poor job of picking up the curries and overall added nothing to the entire meal.

Sizzling Dhaba offers a solid Indian buffet that should satisfy most looking for a nice variety of Indian cuisine. While the vegetarian options left something to be desired, the tasty meat options elevated the restaurant into a solid category. There are some better options in town, but one should be enticed by the variety and affordability given by Sizzling Dhaba, especially if you are in the area.