Indian-themed Buffet

Many buffets focus on seafood, often featuring Southeast Asian or Japanese/Korean cuisine. Indian-themed buffets are quite rare, which is the main reason I decided to visit this place. The variety of food isn't extensive, but it covers the basics, and the Indian dishes are rich and distinctive. As usual, I won't introduce each dish individually. Instead, I'll highlight the ones that fit the theme or are worth recommending. Starting with the cold seafood, the Boston lobster and snow crab legs are the most popular and of good quality. There are also mussels, clams, and crayfish. Cold cuts, smoked salmon, and cheese are my must-haves at any buffet. Here, the cold dishes have an Indian twist, such as tomato and chickpea salad, grilled chicken salad, and beetroot and white bean salad, which are refreshing and not commonly seen. The hot dishes are full of Indian flavor. The samosas are well-made, plump, and golden, not flat like throwing stars. Whether it's butter chicken curry, lamb curry, beef curry, or vegetable curry, each curry sauce has a slightly different flavor, not just one sauce for all. The curry sauces are adjusted to suit the local taste, not too spicy but still fragrant. Eating naan bread with the curry sauce makes you want to eat more. The tandoori chicken is made with chicken thighs, showing the chef's dedication to quality. The curry shrimp mixed with cashews and red onions has a rich texture and is my favorite curry dish. I was surprised to find teppanyaki shrimp here. The chef's control of the heat is excellent, making each shrimp tender and flavorful. As a meat lover, I wouldn't miss the prime rib section. The doneness is just right, with a tender red color that satisfies me completely when paired with gravy. Slow cooking is often praised as a great invention in recent years for maintaining the tenderness of food. The abalone I had tonight was tender and flavorful. After eating a lot of meat and seafood, I took a break with a cup of Indian chai before moving on to the highlight: desserts! First, I had a bowl of soup to warm my stomach. The desserts are full of Indian colors, such as ghee sweets, silver-plated milk cake, cardamom carrot sweets, nut pudding, and coconut milk balls, which are rarely found elsewhere and worth trying. The salty-sweet Indian rice pudding may not be to everyone's taste, but it's quite unique. After another piece of cake, I was completely full. I never expected to find such a distinctive buffet at the YMCA. Restaurant Information: Zai Lam Court