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2014-01-22
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Hong Kong isn't short of Indian Cuisine for dining options. LKF and Soho have countless Indian Cuisine dining options, all with well priced lunch options.I've been to Ista a few times now but I'd thought I'd write a review based on the following recent piece of news:- The management has changed hands. The new manager in there previously worked at Jashan and has pledged to his customers (or at least he was trying to sell me) that they are investing funds to upgrade the lighting and the are incr
I've been to Ista a few times now but I'd thought I'd write a review based on the following recent piece of news:
- The management has changed hands. The new manager in there previously worked at Jashan and has pledged to his customers (or at least he was trying to sell me) that they are investing funds to upgrade the lighting and the are increasing the variety of options in the lunch buffet.
Review:
Lunch Buffet: $118 HKD + 10% = 129.80 = $130 HKD all in
Price to performance on this buffet is good. There are a few cold options such as a simple green salad, Indian Condiments, pickles, raita, and a daily cold appetizer dish. Next they offer two hot appetizers which usually rotates between, some lamb kebab meat, some grilled chicken meat, some form of crispy deep fried white fish, crispy battered vegetables or onions.
Moving on to the curries, they usually have two meat curries, two to three vegetable options, a creamy lentil curry, basmati/saffron rice, and last but not least a milky dessert + fruit platter.
They bring both plain and garlic Naan bread to the table along with a drink of your choice. Lime soda, regular soda, mango lassi, ice tea...are just a few of the options available.
In short, the variety and quality is very decent for lunch and the quality is apparant.
The Environment:
I was concerned to note that rarely anyone was in the dining room during lunch. This suggests their promotion/marketing tactics are poor and they aren't getting customers through the door. I would have expected them to send some poor lackie down the street to push clients up for lunch....
The interior is very clean and the table settings are all linen and white cloth with proper porcelin plates and glassware.
The Taste:
The taste is good. I quite enjoy all their dishes with the exception of the mixed green salad. The salad is rather standard fare but they have two dressing options. One being asian based and another being olive oil and lemon juice + herbs. The mix ratio is pretty bad on this as it is majority olive oil.
The hot food items are all very delicious but I do suspect that they prepare the food with monosodium glutamate. I found my mouth very parched after, along with a sore neck. Later in the afternoon, I had a hard time staying awake at work due to the food comma induced by MSG.
The fruit platter could be improved as they generally always have 3 types of fruit. Papaya, Grapes, and Watermelon. The fruit itself isn't chilled as it sits out on a regular platter near the end. I do suggest that they should improve this by at least chilling the platter or even just mixing it up into a bowl to form a fruit salad type option.
Conclusion:
Would I come back? yes, absolutely as I have already. I am concerned by amounts of MSG they use in the food, I do realize that this is an unfounded claim; however, body reactions and symptomps tend not to lie.
If you want a high quality lunch in a nice environment AND you dont need to concentrate much in the afternoon, definetly Ista is worth a go.
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