Hello everyone this is my first review!!!!!!! this blog will mostly detail some my culinary expeditions around the London area. I hope it's helpful. Time to time i will jabber about other stuff.
Jimmy Spices, World Buffet , Epsom
(if you live in the SW area, take a train from Wimbledon)
www.jimmyspices.co.uk
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A friend of mine recently recommended to me this new large-scale buffet restaurant that has opened up in Epsom. Curious yet highly skeptical of this new establishment, me and my wife took a train from Wimbledon to Epsom station last weekend. My doubts largely sprang out of a belief that a restaurant claiming to dishing out multiple cuisines largely fail in producing quality dishes in categories they claim to have mastered. Nevertheless, the fact that the lunch buffet was only 6.50 all you can eat, we succumbed to our curiosity and our insatiable stomachs .
The moment i stepped in and surveyed the restaurant one particular thing flashed through my mind: "Dubai style Buffets" .Last summer i had the chance to experience some of dubai's large scale buffets like Renaissance hotel's Spice Island. Though not nearly the same scale, Jimmy Spices does evoke that kind of atmosphere. I even asked my Indian server about the origins of this restaurant. He told me that most of the cooks and workers are brought in from Dubai. AAAAAA
After we were politely seated, me and my wife did a quick scan of the different food sections. The restaurant was divided into an Italian, Indian, Chinese, and Thai section. The Thai/Chinese section had a a variety of dishes like chicken green curry, chicken with cashew nuts, etc.. Plus, their was a "Mongolian style" Chinese stir fry cook who was ready to cook-up noodles with a choice of ingredients. The Indian section had an assortment of south Indian and Punjabi starters and main dishes. Also, Seekh Kebabs and chicken Malai tikka were being served straight from the grill. Plus, tandoori roti and garlic naan were also available from the tandoor.
I started my meal off with what seemed to be thigh chicken pieces marinated in Italian mustard sauce with penne pasta in Al Formaggi sauce. I topped the pasta with sun dried-tomatoes in olive oil from the salad section. On the side i took some herb-roasted potatoes. The chicken was surprisingly flavorful and tender. And the Chicken worked well with the pasta. The potatoes were soft yet a bit bland for my taste. For seconds, i went to the Chinese stir fry cook who prepared a shrimp chowmein plate for me that combined noodles, shrimp, bean sprouts, and mixed peppers with an assortment of sauces. I requested him to make it extra spicy. The end result was quite good. the noodles reminded me of "Desi style Chinese" that is found in Pakistan and Inida. I also took a few pieces of chicken tikka and seekh kebab. The chicken was surprisingly tender, soft, and flavorful. Unfortunately it wasn't very spicy, possibly because the restaurant is wishing to cater to a wider group of people (not just Desis). By the time i took some Seekh kebabs, they were largely cold and dry. I ate my grill with some freshly baked naan, which was smothered with yummy garlic butter. By the time i was finishing my second plate i had already gorged myself, so i wasn't able to try and judge some of the other Indian and oriental dishes.
The primary problem with grand buffets are that there is too much food. You enjoy the layout and the prospect of eating a variety of foods, but in reality you only end up eating and trying a segment. Nevertheless, their is always a prospect of coming again and trying something different. Overall, our experience was positive. The Italian food was savory. The grill was good but could be improved. But don't expect to swoon over anything.
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