#24 Taste of the Himalayas
Posted on June 10, 2007
Filed Under Himalayan | 4 Comments
This is a nice little hole in the wall in the Marina district of San Francisco. It happened to be my birthday and we thought a quiet evening and Nepalese food would be pretty good.
Nepal sits between China and India, and the cuisine reflects that. Flavorful but not too heavy, and very well made.
We met the owner, Sharvan, and he was the nicest host I’ve ever had. Here he is pouring our beer for us. Proceeds from the restaurant goes to charity and the staff of the restaurant regularly volunteers and prepared food for the homeless. If you’re looking for a restaurant with a cause, this is it.
Monks brew beer? This is Indian beer and it has a strong wheaty taste.
When you come to this place, you have GOT to order the momos. We got a chicken and a lamb and the lamb was ridiculously good. Excellent hand rolled skin, exceptionally well spiced fillings.
We got the salmon, chicken and lamb tandori. The salmon really stood out. The chicken and lamb were good but not as good as the salmon was, an excellent dish.
An order of naan or Indian Bread is absolutely required. We got the garlic bread and it’s everything I wanted it to be. Crispy, fragrant, and an excellent texture for dipping.
Things get a little more Indian here, this Chicken Masala is exactly what I’d get from an Indian restaurant. I love dipping the bread in it.
Well, Sharvan overheard that it was my birthday and brought out this dessert for us. It’s called Gulab Jamun, which is deep fried dough made from cream and flour and drenched in a sweet syrup.
I really had a great time, the atmosphere was wonderful, and Sharvan was such a gracious host and really looked after us like an old friend. He also came out with a little congo drum and sang and danced a little. They also let us sit and chat for quite a while after their regular hours. The food was fantastic, especially the momos and the indian bread. It was a really great, quiet evening.
Taste of the Himalayas
2420 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Some photos in this entry are by Matt Chou.