Himalayan Peak

"We're running outta options!", exclaimed Big D as we were figuring out what to eat for lunch.  Yah, it's true, we have been demolishing many of the restaurants in and around the North Road corridor.  Hence, his idea was to head up to SFU for eats.  Um...  Really?  On a day that was spiting wet snow???  If you are familiar with SFU, it is its own weather system up there.  So off we went up the hill to...  yes, encounter heavy snow.  I guess it was ironic that we'd be hitting up Himalayan Peak for some Indian buffet.  With the substantial development atop Burnaby Mountain, there are more dining options unlike when I was studying there.  All we had were the cafeteria services and Triple O's (and yes, I opted for latter more often than not).

Now with more people choosing SFU as a place to live, restaurants and services have opened up accordingly.  Located just below Nester's, Himalayan Peak lives up to its namesake except at a significantly lower elevation.  We decided to go for their lunch buffet since it would allow us to try a wide range of items.  We attacked the buffet once it was ready to go.  In addition to the obligatory salad bar, there was decent selection of hot dishes including Channa Masala, Soya & Peas Curry, Zucchini, Fish Curry and Butter Chicken.  The highlight for me was the Tomato Fish Curry as it had an appetizing tang with big chunks of moist fish.  The Butter Chicken was a bit salty and could've been more creamy. I inquired about this with our server and just like I thought, the buffet butter chicken is different from the a la carte version. You must remember that a buffet is never fully representational of a restaurant's full menu.  More often than not, buffet items are prepared a bit differently.  This way, it can stand up to sitting around in a chaffing tray.  

The Zucchini was a pleasant soft texture and quite a bit lacking in flavour. I guess it was a good way to get some veggies into the meal though.  Continuing on the vegetarian theme, the Channa Masala was also very mild.  Well, there was one more non-meat item which was the Soya & Peas Curry.  Essentially vegetarian "meat", it was and interesting texture...  Flavours were light, while the peas added a natural sweetness.  For me, I thought the Naan was more like a crisp bread, which was serviceable because it would be dipped into sauce anyways.  Lastly, I tried the Kheer, which was sweet, but not overly so.  This was a nice way to end a relatively decent (for up at SFU) meal.  Sure, the food caters to the local clientele, so it might offend people looking for true Indian eats, but can you blame a restaurant for doing so?

The Good:
- Okay pricing for the buffet considering the location
- Friendly staff
- Comfortable digs

The Bad:
- Food is catered for the locals (and who could blame them?)
- Parking will be an issue (pay parking going into effect), but most customers are already there