PRICE HK$75-125 per person

FOOD RATING Great. I really enjoy the food and not just because it’s vegetarian. The masterfully combined spices in each dish create unique flavors that are like a vacation for your taste buds. The curries, breads and seasoned rice are all super tasty.

GREEN RATING Quite Green

LOCATION East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Just above Wing On department store.

Woodlands is located in a mall that is trapped in time. The shops look like they haven’t been renovated since Like a Virgin was a hit. The restaurant itself has been around since 1981 and kind of looks like it. The “decor”, if you can call it that, is old school and you certainly wouldn’t come here for the ambiance. That being said, its got great big windows looking out at the street with lots of trees and sunlight. It’s spacious and relatively quiet, which is quite a luxury in Hong Kong.

What you do come here for is the awesomely authentic food. Never having been to India, how do I know its authentic? First, when you walk in there is a sink beside the bar for customers to wash their hands (as you probably know Indian food is eaten with your hands). When you sit down, you’ll notice that over 90% of the diners are of Indian descent with a sprinkling of locals and tourists. And finally, all the food arrive on stainless steel dishes.

This is a place I enjoyed dining at even before I converted to eating meat only once per week. Back then I loved eating Indian dishes with meat but always found myself feeling stuffed from all the heavy sauces. Afterwards I feel like not wanting to have Indian food again for another 3 months.  At Woodlands I never get that feeling, I could eat here once a week.

For some reason, I can never figure out what to order at Indian restaurants. After reading the menu I simply want to order everything. If you can read Chinese, Woodlands has lots of good descriptions. What I really love at Woodlands is the tasting platters that eliminates the problem of choosing. You can either chose the Northern or Southern set meals that are actually large enough for two smaller people to share.The only problem with always ordering the tasting set is that I always look around at what the other diners are eating and wish I had ordered that instead.

I cannot describe the subtle differences between these sets, let alone talk about the different curries, but suffice to say they are both very good. What I can tell you is that there are a myriad of flavors and textures in each dish that makes up a platter are balanced and unique.

Apart from the meal sets, the lemon rice is fantastic as are all the different breads. They  arrive at your table piping hot and there are lots of dipping sauces for all the breads and other deep fried goodies.

The combinations of spices used at Woodlands create unique flavors and aromas that will delight your taste buds. There are enough tastes to keep you interested and surprise you throughout the entire meal. Its nice to end the meal with a super sweet Lassi for desert. The set meals also includes a tasty desert that looks like custard with shark fin. Woodlands is a great way to let your taste buds travel somewhere exotic without leaving Hong Kong.