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| - Shockingly good! I am most grateful to my fellow Yelpers for drawing our attention to this establishment. We never would have ventured into the Hawaiian Marketplace for food--never. After reading the reviews and finding a coupon in the Vegas 24/7 booklet, we went.
It was exactly as stated, totally deserted. We wondered whether it was open when we arrived at about 8:30. By the time we left, it filled to overflowing with mostly Indian clientele (which is telling). I think the dinner buffet began around 9 PM.
My husband and I are big fans of Indian, but we always find it hard to get really good and not just mediocre Indian cuisine. There's lots of mediocrity out there in terms of Indian. Tamba was really really tasty. We tried two new dishes which we enjoyed.
The first was Panipuri, an Indian street food, which involves a hollow shell made of Indian crispy bread which you fill with a green spicy sauce which is supplied separately. Thanks to our server who told us how to eat it. It's fun. Like a shot of mild spice.
The other dish we had was the dessert which came with the Ashoka's feast. It was made of dried carrot and nuts. Now, I have this weird thing against cooked carrots. They make me gag, but I love raw carrot. It's strange. So anyhow, I was not aware of what this dish, Gajar Halva, was made out of. I asked the waiter. It tasted nothing like carrot. It has this amazing texture and sweetness. I highly recommend it. Like most extra-American dishes, I find that you should eat it without knowing what it is. I think many Americans have preconceived notions of what things should taste like and their texture so knowing what you're eating is more apt to gross you out than allow you to experience it.
Oh yea, while the food was excellent here and the service, the Ashoka's feast is not really enough food for two people. We ordered the pani puri as an appetizer with this in mind and even though I wasn't starving, it was barely enough food. It was all very tasty, but I wish we had ordered a bit more food (especially now as I write this really wishing I was in Vegas eating some Tamba).
I also did not find Tamba to be generic in any way, it was decorated nicely and was lit well, somewhat romantically, and quiet.
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