Eating out

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So Asia Oriental Cuisine in Camberley, Surrey

February 01, 2011

Not usually keen to venture out on such a dark, wet evening, my family and I were very glad we did.

We all enjoy tasty Oriental cuisine and hoped to get just that when we dined at So Asia in Camberley recently.

For nearly 10 years, this buffet style restaurant has been providing its customers with good quality food in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

The ingredients are purchased fresh from authentic Oriental suppliers expertly cooked by trained chefs and with over 40 dishes from China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to choose from, there will definitely be something for everyone.

Dining buffet style also means that you don’t have to wait for your food. If you are short of time, So Asia is the ideal restaurant to visit as you can eat quickly and then be on your way.

But, if you have all the time in the world, an evening of delicious Asian cuisine would appeal to many of us.

On entering So Asia, it was soon apparent exactly why this restaurant was so popular, not only did you get a welcoming feeling but also you could hear the happy buzz of diners deep in conversation and clearly having an enjoyable, social evening.

Whether you require a table for two or are part of a large group, So Asia is an ideal venue for any occasion. On arrival at the restaurant, we were greeted by our waiter, Bikash, and shown to a table not too far from the buffet area which was located towards the back of the restaurant.

The buffet offered an amazing selection of aromatic cuisine from starters such as crispy seaweed, crispy aromatic duck, chicken in batter, sweet corn soup, sesame prawns on toast and for the main course you could choose from a selection of vegetables, rice and noodle dishes, beef, chicken, lamb or seafood dishes plus a range of Oriental sauces and of course popadoms and prawn crackers.

The presentation of the buffet was superb with all dishes clearly labelled plus as soon as any of the containers are emptied, they are refilled immediately. The choices of food on offer are also changed on a daily basis to ensure variety and the food is carefully monitored and controlled to ensure that it is always fresh, tasty and hot.

We liked the idea of being able to choose different types of Asian food and looked forward to approaching the buffet table and filling our plates with an assortment of delicious starters.

I choose Chicken Satay, Sesame Prawns on toast, chicken balls in batter plus some crispy popadoms. Lance chose Crispy Seaweed, vegetable Dumplings, Chicken Satay and his favourite, Crispy duck with pancakes.

Our 14 year old sons, Conor and Cameron had more or less the same as us with the exception of Cameron who had spicy chick peas and a few chips!

Our food was so tasty, we couldn’t wait to go back and refill our plates with the main courses.

This time around, I filled up on egg fried rice, Singapore fried noodles and Chicken Balti while Lance had Chinese style pork, more duck and special fried rice.

The boys seemed to have a little bit of everything on their plates and thought it was great to ‘mix and match’ different flavours and textures and to sample food you are not too sure about.

After one more trip to the buffet we took a short break and then all indulged in a bowl of assorted flavoured ice cream, great to cleanse the palate.

The atmosphere inside this elegantly decorated restaurant was extremely relaxed and laid back plus the staff were very attentive and friendly, especially Bikash, our waiter and Ramesh who had invited us that evening.

The night we dined, a Wednesday, was fairly busy with couples, families and group bookings proving that So Asia is an ideal venue for every occasion.

On a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it is advisable to pre-book so as not to disappoint. Dining at So Asia is also great value for money, just because the prices are low does not mean the quality is.

Prices start at just £6.50 for adults and £3.99 for children (under 10’s) for lunchtimes on Monday to Saturday and £10.90 and £5.99 in the evenings on Monday to Thursday or £12.90 and 5.99 on a Friday or Saturday evening.

Forget your weekend roast and come to So Asia to experience their all day Sunday Special, from 12 noon till 10.00pm. Perhaps you are unable to experience the delights of So Asia’s restaurant but don’t be put off as they offer a takeaway service to enable you to eat in the comfort of your own home. All prices are extremely reasonable and fantastic value for money.

So Asia is open for lunch from Monday to Friday 12 noon till 4.30pm and dinner from 5.30pm till 10.30pm, Saturdays from 12 noon till 5.00pm and 5.30pm till 10.30pm and then Sundays from 12 noon till 10.00pm.

My family and I had a wonderful experience dining at So Asia and could not fault the food or service at all, in fact, Conor quoted “I like the way the moment we sat down we got our drinks and could go straight up to the buffet within seconds, the food was also very nice” and Cameron said “I think the service was very good and I am pleased at how quickly the drinks came”.

We couldn’t agree more! Go on, give them a try, you definitely won’t go home hungry. To book a table, telephone So Asia on 01276 29138/29078 or, for further information or to book on-line log on to www.so-asia.com