UNLESS you come from India where restaurants named 'Woodlands' are known for vegetarian fare, in Hong Kong the name does not give any clue as to the meatless dishes served at this casual eatery.
A local treasure, Woodlands has been known to vegetarians and carnivores alike for 14 years. You can find it tucked into another new building in Tsim Sha Tsui East. But its saving grace is a rare view from the dining room of the greenery outside.
This is not a place to come for ambience. The feel of the room is clean and bright, more utilitarian than charming. Customers become regulars due to the hospitality and home-style Indian vegetarian dishes at nearly unheard of low prices. The only animal products used are dairy products.
Meat and eggs are not missed because the vegetables, grains, and pulses take on such rich flavours and textures from the spicing and saucing. Nothing is lip-numbing, just gentle heat in the right places.
The snacks include some intriguing Indian-style pancakes, dosa , rawa dosa and uttappam, made from rice flour, lentil and semolina batters. Consider sharing a dosa, but clear the table first. The paper-thin pancake is nearly 60 centimetres wide. Visitors are allowed in the kitchen to watch them being made.
For a main course, the house specialty is a southern or northern Indian thali, a set meal of impressive size and variety. Thalis are like samplers or mini-buffets, the one-order way to discover the variety and differences in taste in Woodlands' cuisine.
