Aasna, Melange of India

Enjoyed both the lunch buffet and dinner here on a few occasions. We usually get garlic naan, paneer makhani, biryani, and a chicken dish. So far, we have not been disappointed with the food. Additionally, the service is prompt and pleasant.

The only gripe I have this is the nicer than casual atmosphere, including white table cloths. Particularly since the other restaurants in this plaza are more casual I want this place to have the same vibe when I come here.

Today I went to this restaurant with my husband and my daughter. With a good mood in and with a even better mood out.
At first, this place is very nice. Big, clean and elegant. With a big separate room, it is a good place to hold a party.
We ordered three dishes. The chicken Tikka Masala is traditional dish we order every time and everywhere. This one is very good, creamy and tender. The sheep dish is very tasty and spicy. The gosht curry is our good trying dish and we like it. Overall we like all the dishes.
One more thing I have to mention that this place the sevice is extremely nice. Everybody is gentleman. Especially Raj, he is a really good management person. He made us feel warm and welcomed. We will go back again.

I come to this shopping center quite often but didn't have a clue this restaurant existed until I saw the invite to an UYE. What a great find! Many thanks to the awesome organizers Janet O., Ari W. and Linda P.! It was nice to meet other Yelpers, new and veteran alike. My wife and I enjoyed the evening.

The decor of the place was neat. There were images of Hindu deities, tapestries and chimes on the walls. The wait staff was very friendly and provided good service.

We started with Aloo Tiki (Potatoes and Bean Patties) which was on the house. The patties were pretty good with the chutney sauces. We ordered the crab cakes. Unfortunately, this was the one sour note to the evening. They were over-fried on the outside and mushy inside. The Chicken Korma was amazing! I loved the flavor of this dish. The saffron rice was great on its own but also perfect for soaking every bit of the Korma sauce. Didn't want it to go to waste :D Parmesan Rosemary Pesto Naan was really good. They gave us a good portion of the shaved parmesan and it was a good combination with the rosemary and pesto.

I am not drawn to Indian food generally. Maybe it's because the spices always seem intimidating to me. (Yes, I'm still at the entry level when it comes to spicy food.) That being said, I definitely will come back to Aasna. I can actually taste their food without burning my tongue too much.

Doing my first UYE with my two besties Ari W and Linda P and finding a venue to do it was hands down an easy decision. Basic must have: great food. Awesome service. Aasna had both!

The private room was a bonus. In fact it was perfect. Sam and his staff made sure that our big group was catered to.

Erlinda, husband and Jay G's group had their first taste of Indian food last night. What a sweet thing.

A couple of Yelpers celebrated an important milestone last night. Mark F celebrated his birthday with us. Annie M and hubby celebrated their 1.5 wedding anniversary!

Wanugee N the Golden Dragon Fortunes himself graced us with his presence. He also gave a free five minute mini fortune reading to those who wanted. Thanks a lot sexy voice!

Last night Adam and I had the chance to try the Lobster Tikka. Oh wow! Full of flavor fat split lobster on top of grilled red and green peppers and zucchini. I will definitely have this again!

The staff definitely handled the orders and lastly the bill well with most of us deciding on individual tabs.

Great group of Yelpers showed up. Thanks for coming out to enjoy great food with us! Bobby and Jing nice catching up! Adam D thanks for taking our pictures! Alan D and Daniel N always nice hanging with you guys! Lailani thanks for joining Jan P.:) Kenny P see you soon. Janet N and Josie N. Love! Kevin Y nice hanging out!

Thanks for making sure we're happy and full Sam and staff. It was a great decision choosing your establishment for the UYE.

Thank you Ari and Linda!

First off, I'd like to congratulate Janet O., Linda P., and Ari W. for organizing a great UYE!. This was actually my first UYE!

My cousins have very rare opportunities to attend any Yelp related events. Thanks to the lovely ladies mentioned above, they organized an event that my cousins could actually attend at Aasna. My cousins notified me about the event and I gladly submitted m "I'm In" on the event page. I also wanted to try out this new recently opened restaurant.

Fast forward to the day of the event, I met my cousins in front of the restaurant and entered in as a trio. As we walked in, we were happily greeted by Janet O. and Linda P. , while Adam D. took photos to document the event. We arrived early and seating was no problem at all. The only thing that was difficult was finding what to order off the the menu. During the UYE, happy hour was effect and a 20% discount was offered for the dinner menu items. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5pm to 6:30pm. As we were looking at our menus, Janet introduced us to the owner of Aasna.

After browsing the menu, I went with the following items:

- Tandoori Platter (this platter includes Boti Kebab, Seekh Kebab, and Chicken Tikki Kebab)
- Mango lassi
- Garlic naan bread

As soon as my dish was done, it was served on a sizzling platter still piping hot. The steam for the sizzling platter actually fogged up my glasses. The arrangement of a bed of sauteed onions layered with the different kebabs was very appetizing. I know I would've regretted taking that first bite while it was still hot. The mango lassi was very smooth and creamy. The mango taste made it's presence known. When you expect a mango drink, you'll get a mango drink with this.

Once the sizzling platter cooled down, I dove right in and started building mini pitas with the kebab meats, sauteed onions, and the garlic naan bread. The pairings were delicious. The naan bread was very soft and tasted of a light garlic. The meats were tender, seasoned, and lightly charred very well. The onions were crispy and sweet even though they've been sauteed.

During the event, Yelp scwhag was handed out and Wanugee of Golden Dragon Fortunes was there to give attendees quick fortune readings.

Again, I'd like to thank Aasna for the hospitality and great food that was prepared for us. To Janet O. Ari W., and Linda P., no matter what happened that night you ladies are awesome! Great job on organizing your very first UYE! Thank you Adam D. for the photos and Wanugee of Golden Dragon Fortunes for your fortune telling services.

Great venue! Also, they helped host a wonderful UYE event!

First off, let me give a big shout out to Janet O., Ari W. and Linda P. for putting together this dope party. For them to organize this big event and get us all together for this awesome dinner is amazing. Thanks a lot guys!

The food is just amazing, by the way. I have to really hand it to their butter chicken, which was pretty bomb. And the naan bread that was served with it was one of the best that I've ever had. One thing that I really appreciate about this restaurant is the variety of naan breads that they have! I mean, I think I counted at least 10 different types... so give it all a shot!

The butter chicken was well spiced, well seasoned, and extremely tasty. Their lamb was extremely well cooked! It was soft, tender, and had a distinct Indian taste to it while retaining a bit of game taste.

One thing to note as well, this is probably the first Indian restaurant where they served iced water, this is neither a criticism or compliment, just something that I've noticed.

Anyways, I highly recommend this restaurant! I'm really glad their management allowed yelp to host a UYE here!

If it weren't for the amazing UYE thrown by Linda P, Janet O, and Ari W, how would I have known about this gem hidden in this plaza?

Absolutely beautiful interior decor, dim and romantic feeling as well. Decided to try their Chicken Lollipops to start off with. Basa Coconut Curry, Garlic and Butter Naan as well as Mango Lassi to sip on. The Chicken Lollipops were yummy, ground chicken and mixed with spices and cooked onto a cinnamon stick. Rustic and creative, the flavor of cinnamon was infused into the chicken and was pretty good. The Basa Coconut Curry is a bit different than my go-to curries. Tender pieces of white fish in a creamy sweet and savory yellow curry. Tastes amazing with naan and basmati rice! The naan came out piping hot, fluffy and flakey in one bite, amazin' mon- naan.

The waiters and the owner, Sam, was just a joy to be around as they kept us all happy and content with our meals. The food is probably one of the best Indian food I have tried, with a big variety on their menus, great service and lovely decor. I should've known this place would be 5 stars as the aroma of their food and their hospitality appeared as I step foot into Aasna's welcoming door.

Also, thanks to Wanugee for providing 5 minute Mahjong readings into our bright futures. Very insightful and a must try experience, very pleased to have an attraction such as readings at a UYE. Thank you!

Many thanks to Linda, Janet and Ari once again for a successful UYE and to spending time with my favorite SB Yelpers: Adam, Alan, Daniel, Jing, Bobby, Kenny, Vu and Wanugee, as well as meeting new Yelpers for the first time: Jay, Lailani, Jan and Kevin!

Hands down THE BEST Indian buffet and a MUST TRY NEW RESTAURANT in the Milpitas Ranch-99 strip mall.

Weekend's Champagne buffet lunch is of great value and everything - and I repeat... absolutely EVERYTHING was delicious!!! My favorite dish is the Goat Briyani ... it's sooo good and has excellent flavors. Rice is cooked perfectly - not soggy and not too rough, and the goat is moist and flavorful. I went back 3x just for the goat Briyani... I can eat it everyday!!!

Gosh - everything was so good at the buffet and there are so many yummy items to list. My other favorite items are: Tandoori chicken (moist and tasty - infused with spices), Chicken tikka masala (again supet moist chicken and great sauce!). Many times buffet food is dry and bland... we'll, not at Aasna! At Aasna, you will get excellent food and helpful, friendly service.

Lastly, Aasna restaurant is beautiful! They transformed the prior run down Chinese restaurant into a beautiful, zen and classy, comfortable restaurant. (see pics). Love the Buddha in the left corner of the restaurant near the booth seating area.

We cannot wait to be back!!!

Had buffet today to celebrate MLK's day . This review is for buffet and not dinner.

Service : 5 stars (amazing service)

Ambience : 5 stars (clean inviting decor with Buddha fountain; few Buddha paintings which brings calmness)

Parking : 5 stars (maybe 'cause it was MLK day otherwise may be a challenge)

Food : overall 3 stars as the "it" taste factor was missing (bland; most of the dishes tasted same vs letting unique ingredients which make up an entree define it's taste). I'm sure this will definitely get better as this restaurant recently opened (last week). End of the day food makes a difference and this place will make other restaurants run for money if they can perfect this.

Diverse items - lentil soup (yellow daal), egg plant, chili paneer, cauliflower, rice, pakoda, butter chicken, goat curry, tandoori chicken, salad, yogurt, butter chicken, chicken biryani, roti naan fresh served at table, rice pudding & shredded carrot cake (gazrala). My favorite was yogurt, biryani and butter chicken as I was able to enjoy the taste.

Menu : menu is in the color of Indian national flag theme vs boring plain white color (nice ring to overall theme).

Other Factors : beautiful private room for parties.
Price : $13 approx. per person (doesn't include soda, etc.); Reasonable.

Overall 3.75 stars. Will definitely stop by for dinner and then provide another update.

The original plan was to go to Pepper Lunch for dinner but the restaurant isn't open until 5:30PM so my bf and I drove around McCarthy Ranch to see if there was anything else we wanted to eat. While sitting in the car and yelping a few places, my bf pointed out Melange and suggested that we should give it a try. I was a little torn since I am always up to try new places, however, I really wanted the sizzling ribeye with butter garlic from PL (mouth is salivating thinking about it). But being a foodie, I had to give this place a try.

When we walked in there were no other customers in the restaurant, granted it was only 5:20PM on a Thursday. We were seated right away and the waiter bought us some water and a free appetizer. I forgot to asked the waiter what it was called but it was thin little crispy airy chips looking like things. It came with three different dipping sauces and all three were good. Now about the food...

Mango Lassi: Thick and creamy but lack the strong mango flavor
Melon Berry Punch: Ohhhh! So refreshing! It taste like a watermelon jolly rancher. YUM!

Subj Pakaoda: Nice seasoning and crispy, however, it was too much of a filler. I wished I picked my third choice which was the chicken momo.
Bharawan Baigan: This dish came with three pieces of baby eggplant. The sauce it was cooked in was good but I didn't like how big the pieces were.
Butter Chicken: Tender chicken thighs in a tomato bisque like sauce. This is not how butter chicken should taste like, good, but not the real deal.
Coconut Fish Curry: The first bite was fishy but the sauce deinetly help with the taste. I would skip this dish,
Rosemary Pesto Naan: I love the idea and definitely glad we tried it but I felt like because of the pesto flavor, it infer my taste buds to taste all the other dishes spices. I would get the garlic naan instead.
Saffron Rice: Nothing really special about the rice.

Overall, this place was a 2 star in the food department but because of the AWESOME service, I had bumped it up one more star. This is probably the only restaurant in McCarthy Ranch were you would get this kind of customer service. The food was a let down since some of the flavors did not taste authentic enough for me. Also, after dinner, when we got home, both the bf and I went straight to the bathroom.