On the fifth of January, right before my snow boarding trip, my friend and I picked up our rental boards and then decided to go see what was available on Castro Street, Mountain View. I was already running late for work, but I told him I'd go out and eat. So I kept my promise and we quickly rushed to see what was available. Picking up the boards took longer than expected...wait..you really don't care about all this do you. Onto the restaurant. We landed at Shivas, and Indian restaurant. My friend said their dinner was good so we decided to try their lunch. I was hoping more for a sit down where we can place orders, but instead, for lunch it was only buffet style. However, for 10 bucks a person, this really wasn't too bad of a deal considering what you get.
The lunch itself was pretty rushed so the pictures turned out sloppy, the food was more guzzled than eaten, there wasn't much food left as it was nearing 2:00 (also excuse the sloppy pictures), and so the experience wasn't all that great. Not that the restaurant itself was bad. I just hate rushing through meals when I'm in the mood to sit and enjoy, particularly if it's a restaurant I've never been to. I'm also not particularly keen on buffets, especially if the food is new to me, and I'm short on time. Granted, I get to try a plethora of different foods, but really, I can't remember what I'm eating anymore after all the flavors get kinda jumbled up together and my memory of the meal is just, mush.
I guess I'm really just making excuses for myself because I really can't remember much of what I ate. As an amateur at Indian food, everything is just a sauce. The foreign names just makes it even worse. I do, however, have pictures of near empty serving platters where the food was provided (hence the bad pictures) along with the title of the dish, so I will list them below.
Potato_Pakora: Potato pieces coated with multispiced flour batter and deep fried. Is this dish just supposed to be like leftover batter? Wait no..all the potatos are just gone..>_<.
Rice Pulao: Long grain saffron flavored rice with green peas dressing.
Dal Makhani: Black lentil simmered overnight with onions, tomatoes, and spices.
Gobhi Masala: Cauliflower cooked in a special sauce. You know...some of these descriptions are so vague
Shahi Paneer: Cottage cheese pieces in a rich creamy tomato gravy.
Baigan Delight: Eggplant in a special blend. Again, another great description....really....
Opo Masala: Opo cooked with a variety of spices. Um, I have no idea what Opo is....
Lamb Roganjosh: Tender lamb pieces cooked with a variety of spices in a traditional way.
Butter Chicken: Boneless chicken pieces cooked in tomato creamy gravy. So that's what this stuff is called. I think we usually have this served at work, except at work, I think it's a little spicier. This had a spice rating of zero. I prefer mine a little spicier, but good none the less and very very creamy. This photo clearly shows that it was all gone, so all I had was the sauce, yet it was still pretty good.
Malai Chicken Tikka: Chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a clay tandoor (clay oven). This was somehow specially prepared for us. Don't ask me how. This was quite an interesting dish as the chicken was prepared in yogurt which made this thing slightly sour. Not too bad in my opinion. I'm not usually a fan of the white meat of birds but this was surprisingly juicy.
Here is a sample of one fo the plates I gathered. Not really sure what's on it. I did go for seconds, but that plate was much emptier as this was almost enough for me. Lotsa food.
This is probably the hightlight of the meal. They had really good nan. Not too oily, yet it was crispy on the outside and really chewy on the inside. This had to be requested separately, kinda strange for a buffet but it was oh so good. Probably the best nan I've had. Period. It was so good I have two pictures up for it.
The following are the two desserts.
Rice Pudding: Long grain Basmati rice cooked in reduced milk with sugar, saffron, and raisins.
Special Gajrela: Shredded carrot cooked with sweetened reduced milk, nuts, and raisins. Smelling this, my friend thought it would be spicy, but eating it, it was like eating a lump of brown sugar. It had a really grainy texture and was also really sweet. Indian desserts still aren't my thing.
Would I recommend this place? Sure. I can't make a really good judgement on the place because all I had was the buffet, but their buffet was worth the 10 dollars. Hell, the nan alone made the meal worth it. I will be coming back for dinner to give better assessment. Stay tuned.
Yelp
800 California Street
Mountain View, CA, 94043
(650) 960-3802
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