A Flock Visit To Cosmo World Buffet In Derby
Published On Friday 3 Feb 2023 by Sticky Beak
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It’s been ages since we last visited Cosmo in Derby, so we were pretty excited at The Flock all going together and having a multi-cultural foodie feast! For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Cosmo venues, it’s simply this: to bring diners a feast of the most popular/iconic dishes of a continent or culture and provide something for every generation of a family. For the more adventurous there are curries from India and China and pieces of Sushi from Japan and for those with more conservative taste buds there is an Italian Pizza and Pasta selection or our own British roasts and pies to savour. Personally, I couldn’t wait to visit the Teppanyaki counter for luscious King Prawns and the Chinese section for the light-as-a-cloud Bao Buns – yummy, yummy, get in my tummy!!
As usual, we parked in the Derbion centre (I still call it Intu!) and walked the short distance to Cosmo and up those hallowed steps into reception. We received a warm greeting from (the very dapper) Kevin who handed us over to Kumar, who was attired just as nattily as Kevin in his smart black suit and white shirt. Kumar got us all seated at a lovely booth table adjacent to the plethora of counters; clearly, he knows we’ll be making several trips to savour as many yummy dishes as possible!
Another member of the Cosmo Derby team, Tek Raj, took our drinks orders and then it was down to the serious business of feasting. His Nibs and Fledge set off at a pace that Usain Bolt wouldn’t have been able to match, even in his prime; I do feed them at home, honest! Mummy Bird and I were slightly more sedate; not gonna lie, we still trotted briskly up to the counters, our eyes popping out on stalks at the huge choice.
I do like the salad selection at Cosmo, not just for the choice, but also for the fact that it lets me reason that, despite my gluttony, I am getting a balanced meal! It's the way you sell it to yourself, trust me. My plate was groaning with the weight of the fresh, chilled salad so I sauntered over to grab my beloved Custard Bao Buns: ding ding, eating round number 1 had begun. I munched my way through the colourful salad I’d chosen (Beetroot, Gherkins, Black and Green Olives, Artichoke, and Sweetcorn kernels), then sighed happily when I bit into the pillow soft Bao Bun and its coconut centre – be still my beating heart. I’d also spied some crunchy Seaweed and Pickled Ginger at the Sushi counter as I’d helped myself to a couple of pieces, so that got popped on my plate too…as did some super-tasty Char Sui (roasted Pork) and Squid Kung Pao morsels! The Mexican counter’s lure had proved too strong to resist so, on my way back to the table, I popped a chicken wing and charred mini Corn cob on for good measure!
The other members of the Flock didn’t let me be gluttonous by myself; their plates came back just as heaped as mine! His Nibs had Pilau Rice, Samosas, Lamb Jalfrezi and Chickpea Curry for his initial meal, and Chickadee had started as she meant to go on and loaded up on her fave Chinese morsels. Only Mummy Bird showed the slightest bit of restraint; she’d gone for crunchy Edamame Beans, Sushi rolls, egg fried rice and Steak and Scallops from the Teppanyaki station, and you could still see some white of her plate – the rest of us had managed to obliterate any evidence of a plate beneath our food.
Cosmo are very clever in how they operate, I think; the bowls of food aren’t piled high, which means that they get replenished regularly to ensure that dishes stay hot and don’t dry out. It also allows them to see which dishes are proving popular on a day-by-day basis, and move staff around accordingly. The Pizza and Pasta in the Italian section was getting raided enthusiastically by children all evening, and Fledge went to get some Cheesy Pasta from this station, big kid that she is! Early in the evening there were lots of families in with children of all ages, some groups had grandparents in too, and one thing Cosmo does really well is offer all manner of food so that each generation will eat well. Another thing that we’ve always liked about Cosmo is that when you’ve cleared your plate there is a member of staff nearby who will come and take it away so you’re not left (in our case!) with used crockery piled up. You don’t have to go hunting ages for clean plates either; at each station there is an assortment of sizes to choose from, as well as sectional ones, which I don’t think were originally intended for folks who don’t like their food types to touch each other, but they do come in handy if you’ve got this foible.
We headed out for round two, all coming back with heaped plates! Fledge had properly gone for it this time, loading up with Char Sui, Spring Rolls (which were brilliantly crisp and crunchy), Egg Fried Rice, King Prawns with Ginger and Spring onion, and Beef in Black Bean sauce. The Beef was lovely and tender and the sauce wasn’t overly spiced, which will appeal to a lot of people. If there’s a shortage of King Prawns in the next few weeks, you can blame my girl; there was at least a dozen of the plump, juicy minxes on her plate! Honestly, Fledge can eat for Britain; her excuse is that now she’s back studying again, her brain needs the food.
Mummy Birds’ second plate wasn’t too shabby either. A pair of Spring Rolls were nestled at the side of a good wodge of fried Noodles and Vegetables, with Squid Kung Pao, more Char Sui, and a Chicken dish all spread out on the rest of the plate. We’d all eaten the Squid at some point in the evening (whether from a station or cooked-to-order at the Teppanyaki counter) and said how superb it was; the texture was delightfully soft, rather than tough and rubbery. The Char Sui was another morsel that we’d all succumbed to, again thanks to its wonderful flavour and texture; this pork certainly wasn’t dry and tasteless.
I’d spied the crispy Salt and Pepper Prawns (much to Fledge’s annoyance – snooze you lose, kidda!) and they certainly did have a peppery bite to them. On my travels around the Cosmo stations, I finally made it to the always popular Teppanyaki spot where I asked for King Prawns and Salmon. I’ve never had the Salmon before and I have to say that Chef cooked it perfectly to retain its moistness, adding herbed butter at my request to accompany the fish as it cooked and then adding a squeeze of fresh Lemon back at the table. The King Prawns sweetness was zhuzhed up with some Soy and a squeeze of Sriracha which got my taste buds jumping as it hit them. In keeping with my strategy for guilt-free dining at Cosmo Derby, I added a good portion of both the Broccoli with Garlic and stir-fried Green Beans on to my plate, enjoying the crunch of the vegetables (no soggy veg at Cosmo!).
Looking over at His Nibs’ obscenely loaded plate I could see where Fledge gets her tendency to eat lots of something from; no word of a lie, if there was one piece of Squid on The Mans plate there were a dozen and a half! I might start to refer to him as ’Squidbert’ from now no, what d’you reckon?! He’d also found the Char Sui Bao Buns and remarked how good it was; I had sampled the Lotus Bun as well as my Custard love, so safe to say that the Bao Buns pass muster at Cosmo Derby! I was slightly shocked that none of us had come back with the components for Shredded Duck and Pancakes – they are in the same place as the Buns; never mind, there’s always next time.
Much to my shock, it was Mummy Bird who initiated the trip to the dessert counters at Cosmo Derby; usually it’s The Man Bird and his irrepressible sweet tooth that leads the charge for dessert! We all used the square, 4-section platters for dessert and one of Mummy’s housed a huge portion of Sticky Pudding and equally thick sauce; the rest contained cake and mini Cola bottles, Strawbs and Fried Egg sweeties. Fledge had stuffed her student face so much with her savoury choices that she couldn’t manage anything sweet, so His Nibs made up for it by coming back with a massive portion of rich Chocolate Cake and mini Strawbs, Fruit-topped Cheesecake, Eton Mess Cake and Carrot Cake, all accompanied by mini Cola bottles!
Not that I can really comment, seeing as my own platter housed an entire section of fizzy Cola Bottles! In mitigation, I did also have Fresh Pineapple, Honeydew Melon and Red- and Green-Grapes on my platter – got to keep up a balanced diet, y’know! I topped a dinky sweet pancake with some Vanilla Custard, as well as having a square of Carrot Cake and a Vanilla Sponge topped with Coconut. All of the cakes we’d got between us were really nice: moist and light in texture and the Carrot cake had a beautiful spice laden taste to it. Cosmo keeps its portions of sweets on the small side, meaning that you can indulge in several items if you’re torn by the amount of choice on offer. The Ice Cream station was like a proverbial honey-pot for the children, and you can top it with all manner of sweets, chocolate sauce, or even popcorn!
Throughout our time at Cosmo Derby, the staff treat us like royalty, asking if we needed more drinks at regular intervals and checking we were enjoying our food. Members of the team were always scooting around to keep the counters clean and tidy (Aisha was in our section, and did a fantastic job) and to ensure that there was a steady supply of clean plates at each station. We bade Kevin and Kumar farewell and as we went back out into the foyer entrance, did a double take at the volume of people now waiting! Whilst there are walk-in tables available, I would definitely recommend booking ahead if you’re in a large group, if it’s for an occasion, or if you want to dine at a specific time.
Whilst it might not seem an obvious choice, I’m just going to put it out there that Cosmo might be an option for a Valentine’s meal? With this famous date only a couple of weeks away, those of you who haven’t made plans, might be needing a suggestion as to where to go!
Now, I’m not suggesting that Derby Cosmo is the most romantic, intimate setting for this meal, but there are a couple of very clear plus-points: a) if you can’t get or afford a baby-sitter, kids are more than welcome, and b) it’s a budget-friendly, set-price option, and let’s face it, we all need help in that department right now! Cosmo is also a fab place to go on Valentine’s if you’re single, if only because it isn’t especially intimate or romantic; you can happily go there if you’re going for a ‘Gal-lentines’ or ‘Guy-lentines’ vibe with groups of friends on 14th February too. On the big day itself, Cosmo is opening from Noon and between Noon-4pm the price is £14.99 per adult and £8.99 per child under 155cm.
Hot Wings happily given again to this versatile, popular Derby eatery; huge thanks to Sid for inviting us along, you and your team and all the Chefs ensured we all had a great family evening.
Cosmo Derby is open 7 days-a-week, offering lunch service just at the weekend: Saturday (Noon-4pm; adults £14.99, kids under 155cm £8.99) and Sunday (Noon-9pm; adults £18.99, kids under 155cm £10.50). Evening service is 5-9.30pm Monday-Thursday: adults £18.50pp; Friday 5-10pm: adults £18.99 pp; Saturday 4-10.30pm, adults £20.99pp. Children under 155cm height eat for £10.50 any time other than Saturday Lunch, which is £8.99 as stated before.
Oooh, I nearly forgot, for half-term (20-26th February 2023) Cosmo will be opening from 4pm during weekdays. Check out their website for the latest, up-to-date information!
To book a table, ring 01332 295300,
or visit www.cosmo-restaurants.co.uk/restaurants/derby
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