Place: Jalpaan
Location: 4th Floor, Oasis Center, Somajiguda
Cuisine: Buffet
Meal: Lunch (with bro)
One of my cousins had recently requested me to review this place. For her sake, and wanting to try out a new place, here I was with my brother for lunch on a Sunday. Walking in, the place had plush decor, was dimly lit and had a nice feel to it. We were asked to choose between the buffet or a-la-carte, and we decided to go for the buffet.
We were seated at a table for four, and the soup and starters were served at the table. For soup, they had Tomato Shorba and Sweet Corn Soup. I decided to have the latter while my brother opted for the Shorba.
The Sweet Corn was thick, but was very sweet and even adding tons of pepper didn’t help. The Shorba on the other hand was also sweet, but it also had the right amount of spice. I liked it better than the Sweet Corn.
For Starters, they served Aloo Katliyan, Grilled Cottage Cheese, Sheekh Kabab and something called Crispy Konjee Veg.
The Aloo Katliyan were par-boiled potatoes, sliced and spiced. They were alright, but pretty much bland. The Paneer was tender and very good. It was very well grilled and tasted yum. The Sheekh Kababs were very dry, while the Crispy Konjee turned out to be crispy vegetables which were pretty decent.
On the Indian front, they had Amritsari Masala Paneer, Methi Makai Malai, Veg Kalapuri (I suppose it’s Kohlapuri) and Dal Jalpaan.
The Paneer gravy was very good, but it had huge chunks of raw paneer which had no flavor. The Methi Makai Malai was the best of the lot. It was creamy, and I could tell that the methi used was fresh. Yum. The Kohlapuri was equally good. It had that a nice tangy flavor to it. The Butter Naan served on table was very soft and made the curries taste even better.
On the Italian front, they had Tossed Spaghetti and Penne Arrabiata. The Spaghetti was good and had a nice basil flavor to it, but was a little under-cooked. The Penne on the other hand was horrible. The arrabiata sauce was very thin, and the penne was overcooked.
They had Veg Soft Noodles and Manchuria on the Chinese front. The Noodles were very bland and had absolutely no flavor. The Manchuria was something similar to what I cook at home, burnt. The sauce was decent though. For rice, they had Methi Chaman Biryani which was pretty alright. I thought it would have tasted better without the sweet corn.
They didn’t have a live counter, but had crispy noodles, Karara Palak Chat and make-yourself Pani Puri on the buffet. The Pakora Chat was decent, Pani Puri horrendous.
For desert, they had Moong Dal Halwa, Kheer, Strawberry Ice-cream and Chocolate sauce. The Halwa and the Kheer were one of the best deserts I’ve had at a buffet. The Halwa was full of ghee, not too sweet, just perfect, while the Kheer was creamy and awesome.
Overall, a decent meal. But apart from the Indian food, which was excellent, the rest was just average. Compared to Jiva Imperia down the road, the spread was quite small, and is also more expensive. The service is decent and the ambiance good. It’s something you can give a shot once, but I still prefer Jivas.
Food: 7.5/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 8/10
Meal for 1: Rs. 314/-
Verdict: 7.5/10
