The heart of Microsoft runs on lunch buffet curry. There is no shortage of Indian restaurants immediately residing in the vicinity of Microsoft. I’ve been to 4 so far, and they’ve all been within 8 blocks of one another. But, are they any good?
Kanishka’s, right off of Redmond way (about a block from Redmond Town Center) is the best I’ve had so far, especially for a lunch buffet. The price is quite reasonable (around $9 without tip), and their offerings go a little farther than your normal butter chicken/naan/random salad that a substandard lunch buffet would offer. The buffet is small enough that the curry is never given a chance to congeal, but deep enough that you’re not waiting in line for them to reload on the naan.
I’m not very good at remembering names of Indian curries (is it uncouth to not bring a notepad to lunch if you’re a food blogger?), so bear with me. However, I’m pretty good at loading my plate up at a buffet. They have a nice, creamy spinach curry with bits of cheese hidden within. The tawa chicken really packs a punch, like a really spicy sweet and sour chicken. Not greasy at all either. There’s a light cheese curry, I believe it’s a Marsala but I’m not sure. It was good though. Butter chicken is glowing red in the center there, if you’ve had a butter chicken once you’ve had them all. No better or worse than what I’ve had from any other restaurant.
Many a time I’ve found that the tandoori chicken at lunch buffets are subpar at best, with the restaurant rushing it out, panicking to refill the rapidly depleting trays on the cart. Kanishka’s does a fine job, however. The tandoori chicken is cooked thoroughly to the bone, and is slightly crisp on the outside, just the way I like it. The pieces are also large enough that you don’t feel like you have to grab 5 chicken legs to satisfy your quota.
One of my tablemates ordered a specialty naan for us. I forget what it was called but I’ll make a note to ask him. Anyways, it was filled with garlic, lentils, and various spices. It was good, but nothing beats a good spinach naan (note extra glob of spinach curry just for this reason).
While the meal is definitely a lunch buffet, I’d like to explore eating here at dinner (I hear there’s live sitar), just to get a sense of how exactly it stacks up to Seattle stalwarts Taste of India and Cedar’s. Since those two restaurants are quite overpriced and lacking in any sort of distinction that would justify a $13 dollar price tag, I’m projecting that Kanishka’s may compare favorably (we’ll see).
Posted by hojodimsum
