On Orem’s Kohinoor and the inherent dilemma of dining reviews
A daily lunch special of Thali, a plate of several dishes, taken at Kohinoor in Orem during a 2010 visit.
Amandeep Mann, a chef at Kohinoor, prepares dishes in a 2010 file photo.
This was just going to be a review about Kohinoor, the Indian restaurant in Orem. I’m going to broaden the scope here, though, and talk about dining reviews generally. Given my experience at Kohinoor, it seems fitting.
Dining reviews have always had an accompanying learning curve. The slope of that curve becomes less steep over time, but I’m still learning. There are a set of challenging variables at work. I’ve been thinking about those variables, and I suspect they may always exist.
Eating food elicits a strange mix of criticism and positive thinking — it doesn’t matter if you’re eating for fun, for work, for family gatherings, whatever. You’re critical because, well, you’re ingesting the food after all. You kind of surrender your taste buds to whatever touches them. You’re also spending your time, your hunger and perhaps your money. Of course you’ll be critical. Oddly, those same factors also cause positivity: You instinctively make the best of whatever situation your mouth and wallet might be in.
We’ve all experienced the phenomenon that follows. Things seem good enough during the dining experience, then you leave and the shine of positivity wears off gradually.
The phenomenon is ever-present at dining reviews. I want to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt. I want to enjoy myself. But I also have to be honest. If it wasn’t good, why would I pretend otherwise? Kohinoor brought this dilemma in focus. Simply put, we were disappointed in the food, the ambiance and the overall dining experience. Yet the restaurant has a four-star rating (out of five stars) on Yelp and TripAdvisor, and a 4.8-star rating on Google. Why was my experience so different from all those that left such positive reviews?
Did we not order the right items? The Kohinoor Snacks appetizer included all of the restaurant’s apps: The Vegetable Samosa, Onion Bhaji, Chicken Pakora and Vegetable Pakora. We ordered that, and it was a mixed bag, with the Vegetable Samosa — a deep-fried flour pastry with potatoes, green peas and spices — being the only clear standout.
For entrees we ordered the Mango Chicken, Kohinoor Mix Kabob and Vegetable Briyani. We all really enjoyed the Briyani, a dish of basmati rice cooked with mixed vegetables, onions, garlic, ginger, cashew nuts, raisins and spices, served with a side of raita, a cucumber-based Indian yogurt. The mix of flavors created a taste that was subtly sweet and smoky. (Though they didn’t include the raita for some reason.) The Mango Chicken and Kohinoor Mix Kabob were pretty disappointing, mostly because of the meats. They tasted dried out and not that fresh. Really underwhelming.
We hoped the dessert might end things on a high note. The Kulfi, a homemade Indian ice cream with pistachios, cashew nuts, cardamom seeds and cream, sounded appealing. It arrived at our table and the ice cream was so frozen that we genuinely struggled to break it with our spoons. A nearly impenetrable Kulfi rock. “Kohinoor on ice,” my friend joked.
Honestly, I can’t imagine ever choosing Kohinoor over Provo’s Bombay House or India Palace — two restaurants whose food and ambiance are far, far superior. Kohinoor’s entrees may be a dollar or two cheaper, but doesn’t the vast quality difference make the price issue moot?
You get one chance to make a first impression. That’s an unfortunate reality for restaurants, and I don’t envy their struggle. Like other eateries, Kohinoor has a lengthy menu. There’s no way a single visit could be comprehensive. Every new customer is playing culinary Russian roulette. A restaurant has to bank on enough people getting an empty barrel to return again, to tell their friends, to leave a positive review, etc. It seems Kohinoor has that going for it. I guess we’ll mutually part ways.
KOHINOOR
Where: 75 S. State St., Orem
Hours: Monday to Friday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m.; Saturday noon-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m; closed Sunday
Prices: Appetizers $4-$8, entrees $10-$17, beverages and desserts $2.50-$4
Info: Kohinoorut.com