The Place
There are two types of buffets in Shanghai: expensive ones, usually found in hotels, with chocolate fountains, carving stations and annoying service charges on the bill. And there are cheap ones, beloved of exchange students and sometimes food poisoning bacteria too.
With an RMB80 price tag, including beer(!), you might expect to find Rangoli in the latter category, but not so. Tucked inside Tianzifang, the restaurant occupies quite a lovely loft space with a cheap-looking Taobao décor scheme. Bollywood music videos play from a wall-mounted TV in the corner.
The Food
But don't let that put you off, the kitchen here is 100 percent serious, thanks to an Indian chef with years of experience cooking Indian cuisine in high-end hotels. Curries aside, the thing that sets Rangoli apart is the installation of a traditional tandoor clay oven, which churns out a steady stream of arguably the best naan, paratha and roti breads in Shanghai. 
The à la carte menu contains no less than 11 different flatbreads to choose from (from RMB20), but do yourself a favor and get the Rangoli special bread basket, which contains five different varieties, brushed with melted ghee butter (RMB70).
The same quality is also afforded to their grilled tandoori meats, including chicken, mutton and fish (from RMB60). Vegetarians are particularly well catered for in the tandoori department with cauliflower, mushroom, paneer and potato options (from RMB50). 
Onto the curries. There are 35 on Rangoli's long-ass menu, ranging from Goan prawn curry, kadai paneer, spicy vindaloos, lamb rogan josh, milder tikka masalas and kormas too (from RMB60-75). Best of the ones we tried were the mutton shahi korma (RMB75) – creamy, aromatic and very rich.
Heavy butter chicken (RMB55) is also very satisfying.
Spinach-based palak paneer (RMB55) was a little salty for our tastes, but better when mixed with a little dahi (homemade yoghurt dip, RMB30), a necessary extra for cooling down spicier curries. 
The RMB80 buffet, served from 5-10.30pm satisfies on a different level, with plenty of curry (both veggie and meat) options served from steel tureens, extending also to naan breads, chutneys, raitas, beer and soft drinks. The choice is plentiful, but order from the à la carte menu should that not suffice. 
Food verdict: 2.5/3
The vibe
Rangoli isn't the kind of place you'd bring someone to impress, but we would definitely come here with friends for a casual dinner. Service is very friendly and English speaking from the Indian manager and servers, but can get a tiny bit slow (although nothing unmanageable) for à la carte dishes. No such problem for the buffet.
Vibe verdict: 0.5/1
Value for money
RMB80 for a free-flow of good quality Indian food? Obviously there's value for money to be found here; we just hope Rangoli can keep it up and stay open with prices this low. We'll certainly be back here next time we're in the mood for serious quantities of curry.
Value for money: 1/1
TOTAL VERDICT: 4/5
Price: RMB80 per person for dinner, RMB100 per person for à la carte
Who's going: locals and expats
Good for: buffets, Indian food, naan bread, tandoori, beer, casual dining
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