Hilton Manila’s ‘Treasures of India’

On the third floor of Hilton Manila, in Pasay, you will discover a secret passage to one of the world's best cuisines: Indian.

In mid-October, the luxury hotel's open-kitchen restaurant, Kusina Sea Kitchens, introduced an Indian buffet offering called Treasures of India — whipped up by Hilton Manila's new senior sous Indian chef, Manish Thapa.

The Halal-friendly Treasures of India is just the latest in a parade of international cuisines at Kusina, which offers a competitive all-you-can-eat buffet experience.

Vast spectrum of tastes

Indian dishes are spiked with a heady mix of earthy, aromatic spices: Saffron, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper, red chili, cinnamon, coriander and more.

Indian cuisine is exhilaratingly diverse, with dishes and cooking methods distinctly different from one region to another. North India, for example, chiefly uses chicken and lamb, while South India is more vegetarian-focused. There's also Eastern India, where rice and milk are heavily used, and Western India, where Goan cuisine is the most popular, with kokum and vinegar as distinct features.

Every Indian dish has a backstory of colonial invasion and traders. Your side dish of raita could have a sprinkle of Arab influence, or a dash of Portuguese, or a little bit of Persian or British. From Karnataka all the way to Andhra Pradesh, a single Indian dish shifts and morphs into a thousand nuances.

Even Hilton Manila's resident Indian chef Manish has collected culinary techniques and influences in various places over the years, such as in New Delhi, Muscat in Oman, and, of course right here in the Philippines, where he has been cooking and living for 16 years now.

One thing's for sure: Indian cuisine is sensational. Whether you are tasting a fiery Phaal curry or a savory and sweet tandoori chicken, the vast spectrum of Indian cuisine will leave you discovering new mouth-watering variations of Indian recipes for the rest of your life.

'Colorful, almost magical' spread

Kusina Sea Kitchen's Indian buffet aims to transport diners to India, be it to a roadside eatery in Amritsar in Punjab, or the most opulent Mumbai restaurant. That's how dedicated the restaurant is to bringing India to you.

"The spices that we use are imported from India" said chef Manish. "There are a number of authentic Indian groceries available here in Metro Manila."

Chef Manish, who began his cooking career 20 years ago in New Delhi, tells me that contrary to the myth, not all Indian food is spicy.

"It really depends on which Indian cuisine you are cooking," he explained. "Mughlai cuisine has very mild spicy dishes such as butter chicken, paneer, makhni, and korma, to name a few. The food we present our diners here at Kusina Sea Kitchens is mild spicy — still very authentic and ideal for all of our guests to enjoy."

In Kusina, where Indian dishes are aplenty, you can get a taste of lamb rogan josh, an Indian lamb curry that is a signature Kashmiri cuisine; chicken tikka masala, a common favorite in the Philippines; the coconut-sprinkled prawn Goan curry; vegetable pulao (a rice dish); dal makhana (a lentil recipe); palak paneer (a type of cottage cheese drenched in pasty green spinach), and sweet balls for dessert called gulab jamun.

Not all buffet restaurants in the metro offer Indian cuisine. Thanks to Hilton Manila, we can now enjoy Kusina Sea Kitchen's brand of dizzyingly colorful, almost magical, Indian spread.

All you can eat

For P2,480, you can taste all the Indian dishes offered, and it's half the price for your child. The Treasures of India promotion may run only until 10 November, but if it becomes a hit, you may very well find it as a permanent station in the fancy hotel buffet restaurant.

After all, Kusina is boldly experimental, always wanting to satisfy new cravings and fulfilling one's desire for a wild, new foreign taste.

"We wanted to share a new Halal-friendly option for our diners, something that is new to our market here within our area that is authentic and flavorful," said Hilton Manila general manager John Lucas, on their brand-new Indian buffet.

"Our all-day dining restaurant continues to evolve, with more culinary surprises ahead," he promised.

And we believe him.