Buffet lunch at Yantra Restaurant at Tanglin Mall

Fresh from our recent enjoyable Indian dinner at the British Club, we had lunch at Yantra which we were told serves a very decent Northern Indian buffet lunch. We had not been there before but we still have fond memories of our recent Indian meal so we looked forward to the buffet lunch at Yantra Restaurant. It seems like good things, such as delicious Indian meals, do happen in pairs.

The decor of Yantra can best be described as a tale of two angles. From the outside and in some places within the restaurant, the place looks dark and featureless. But when you walk around the restaurant, there are certain places where the light from the large glass window beams in to bathe portions of the interior with natural light, giving them a magical look.

On weekdays, Yantra serves a buffet lunch which is said to feature 25 dishes for $25 per person. We did not really count the number of dishes available, but it is safe to say that the food was more than adequate. The restaurant is larger than it seems on the outside. Once past the entrance and the adjacent wine cellar, there is a spacious reception area. Go further in and you can see a cavernous interior that you would not expect just by looking from the outside.

We started at the appetiser table where there were salads and tandoori items.  We like the cooked vegetables such as tandoori vegetables (assorted vegetables marinated and cooked in tandoor oven) and tandoori gobi (cauliflower florets marinated in yogurt and mustard and cooked in the tandoor). The tandoori chicken was nice and tender. The chapli kebab (tawafried minced lamb patties) would appeal to those who like the stronger tasting meats.

Next we moved on to the main courses. Here the table was fully laden with many types of curries which you can eat with rice or naan. The latter is freshly made and served to you at the table. At this stage, I must confess that I lost track of what we were eating. To the best of my recollection, there was a mild prawn curry which is suitable for those who prefer their curry less spicy. The rest were chicken and vegetable curries. The two that I can remember are the kadhai paneer (cottage cheese cooked in onion gravy) and a chicken curry cooked with an old recipe. The chicken curry was really fragrant and the cheese was not ‘cheesy’ at all. In fact, you might think it was bean curd if a blind-tasting was conducted.  We had to restrain ourselves and limit our helpings to tasting portions in order to try out all the items.

Having been careful to reserve a bit of space for dessert, we finally proceeded to the dessert station which is modest by comparison with the other two stations. Here you can help yourself to assorted fruits, vanilla ice-cream and some Indian desserts. We tried the suji halwa (sweetened semolina mix with cashew nuts and raisins),  vermicelli kheer (vermicelli rice dessert) and gajar halwa (sweetened carrots). All three were very good. Together with a scoop of the vanilla ice-cream, they brought our Northern Indian buffet lunch to a sweet ending.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs

Yantra Restaurant
163 Tanglin Road
01-28/33 Tanglin Mall
Singapore 247933

Tel: +65 6836 3088

Opening Hours:
Brunch 11:30 – 3:00 PM (Weekends)
Lunch 12:00 – 3:00 PM (Weekdays)
Dinner 6:30 – 10:00 PM (Weekdays)
Dinner 6:30 – 10:30 PM (Weekends & PH)

Facebook Page

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog