Sherman's Food Adventures: Mehfil

Mehfil

Okay, I finally did it. I went to try the Indian buffet at Mehfil. I know, I know, some of my friends have warned me to avoid it like the plague. On the other hand, I've heard others say it's pretty good. One particular review that I read online indicated that someone was actually vomiting while eating the food. The food can't be that bad, can it??? Well, no matter what, I was going on an adventure apparently! I got to the restaurant right when it opened. One quick look at the buffet and it reminded me of the movie Vegas Vacation. There is a scene where Clark Griswold goes to the cheapest buffet ($1.49) with cousin Eddie and the food looks all the same; but only in different colours. If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, go here to see it. Well, if you look at the pictures, the food is merely sauces in different colours much like the movie. However, unlike the movie, the food is actually edible. Moreover, Indian food can be sauce-dominant; therefore, the buffet will look like Vegas Vacation.

The buffet is actually quite comprehensive for the price. The carbs included Naan, Papadoms, potatoes and rice. Inexplicably for an Indian buffet, there was chow mein and spring rolls (I didn't touch those). I did try the Vegetable Pakora and although they were fried up nicely and tasted pretty good, they were a bit too dense. Naturally, I had to try the Butter Chicken and the chicken was quite tender. However, the sauce itself was not really that good. It was runny and not creamy enough. I think there was not enough cream in the sauce. With that being said, it did taste okay; however, with a lack of cream, it had more of a tomato taste. On the other hand, the Goat Curry was pretty good. The pieces of goat were generally quite tender. The sauce was mild and delicately flavoured.

The Chicken Curry was also pretty good. There were big, tender pieces of chicken nestled in a curry that had predominant hints of cilantro and ginger. I personally thought that this was the best of the curries. I tried a bit of the Zucchini curry as well and it was alright. I'm not a big fan of vegetarian curries, so I guess I'm a bit biased. Since Zucchini becomes quite mushy when cooked, the whole curry was just a gooey mess. Speaking of gooey messes, the Palak Paneer was not that great either. There was practically no paneer in it; therefore, the dish was essentially just mushy spinach (which was kinda bland too). I like Palak Paneer, but I didn't like this one.

The lunch buffet cost me $8.95 and to be fair, it is actually okay. Naturally a buffet is never as good as a made-to-order meal. If you are hungry or in a rush, the buffet does the job. However, for $8.95, I can also easily get a lunch special from Mahek, Mirch Masala, Desi Junction, Tasty Sweets or Sohi's. All of which are better than Mehfil. Yet, my visit to Mehfil debunks the idea that it is gross; it was actually acceptable. But, I am still amused by the similarities it shares with the buffet in Vegas Vacation.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good selection

The Bad:
- Food is pretty average
- Desserts are weak

Mehfil
9570 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-587-3200

Business Hours:
11:30am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu)
11:30am - 11:00pm (Fri & Sat)

Mehfil on Urbanspoon

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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

We have a pretty good Indian buffet near the office I will have to review. It's good value and not caught up in the different sauce differnt colour that I have seen in other places.

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