Food & Travel Diary

We didn’t realize it was Diwali until we saw the banners hanging from the ceiling, and the enormous table of desserts that extended halfway across the restaurant. We went for lunch at the Himalaya Restaurant, on the southwest corner of Main and 50th Ave., simply because we were in the mood for good, inexpensive Indian food.

Because this was the first day of the Hindu festival celebrating the victory of light over darkness, the place was unusually busy. Still, we had no trouble finding a seat. After selecting a table, we headed straight for the buffet and loaded our plates with rice pilau, potatoes and cauliflower, various kinds of curried lentils, spicy chickpeas in sauce, freshly baked flatbread, salads and pickles. I opted for the butter chicken while my partner ate vegetarian.

When you go to an all-you-can eat buffet, it’s hard to remember to leave room for dessert, but we managed to stuff in some barfis and a ball of gulab jamon.

The total for one veg and one non-veg buffet lunch came to $21.75.

My partner counted more than 50 different Indian sweets that were available for sale from the long table. I asked one woman who was filling up a take-away box “How do you decide which ones to take?”

“You can’t go wrong with one of each,” she smiled. “They’re all good.”

There may be better places in Vancouver to get Indian food, but for variety and price, the Himalaya’s lunch buffet provides consistently good value in a casual, friendly atmosphere.

There is parking across the lane in back for $1 an hour, and I’ve never had trouble finding a space at lunchtime.

Himalaya Restaurant, 6587 Main St., Vancouver, 604-324-6514.