Nepalese food at Himalaya Restaurant

Our wishes were granted when we learned from a friend that Himalaya has reopened after a sudden disappearance from Auckland's dining scene. We were so amazed the first we went but was really sad when they moved from Parnell.

Himalaya; like its name serves Nepalese food. It's a shame that a cuisine so palatable has not gained its equivalence in popularity as other cuisines. How would I sum it up Nepalese food in my opinion? It's rich in flavours like Northern Indian food minus the bloatiness and greasiness.

So that night, we braved the cold winter weather and went to Himalaya, now in its new location in Ponsonby.


Entree was Chana Chat Pat, a chick pea salad....it was really refreshing with chick peas, red onions,tomatoes, seasoned with green chillies, lime and coriander. A little spicy but was the perfect dish to give us a healthy appetite for the night.


Next came our TIbetan bread;baked wholemeal bread that looks like a face..it's very very delicious with a dry crispy skin but very moist and fragrant inside.



S ordered Sekuwa, lamb pieces marinated with Nepali spiced char-grilled to perfection, without losing the meat's tenderness. It was served with Nepali potato cake, rice puffs and salad.


I chose Momo, this is a dish with spiced lamm dumpling similar to the chinese dumplings served with tahini and chutney. According to the menu, this is the most popular food in Nepal. I enjoyed it so much. The skin is really nice compared to chinese dumplings. The portion is very generous too, which I couldn't finish after eating the the entrees.

We had a small chat with the owner of Himalaya and was told that he's from Kathmandu, which is a good sign on the food's authenticity.

It was a great night of great food and was also a relief after having to track the whereabouts of this restaurant since a year now. We are definitely coming back soon!! Can't wait!!

Himalaya
283 Ponsonby Road (3 Lamps Plaza)
09 376 4414

Tweet

Follow @herworldly

Hong Kong, The rest of the trip

I realise that it took me a while to finally finish with my HK trip posting; having been really busy and swamped with work and other activities. So here is the posting on the rest of my trip.

We went to Goldfish Market in Mong Kok and every store has an amusing display of live fish in plastic bags filled with water and oxygen. S was amused because he's never seen live fish packaged like fast food before.

Gam Yue Lou( Goldfish uncles)??

We were walking up and down Bute Street in Mong Kok looking for a Char Chan Teng popular for their Boh Loh Yau ( Pineapple Buns with Butter). After searching every corner, we asked a local peddler and was told that it was partially burnt down the night before and even showed me the newspaper. Talk about luck!! I have been dying to try out the Boh Loh Bau there after reading all the rave reviews of the locals. So, we had no choice but to just find another place to go to for tea time.

We ended up in maybe one of the worst corners of Mong Kok and in a crummy Char Chan Teng. I am usually not that fuzzy with the exterior of an eatery but this one was grotesque!


We ordered a french toast set with salad, hot tea, lemon honey and another afternoon tea set but the outrageously rude waitress forgot about the teaset I've ordered. It was fine by me because after having a few bites of the french toast and navigating its surrounding, I couldn't be happier to be out of that place faster than the speed of light.


After that horrific teatime, we paid and dashed out to Sneaker Street; our 3rd round on this trip!
We bought a couple more things and then headed back over to Hong Kong island to Causeway Bay to meet up with an old friend from Uni.



A snack store in the viccinity of Sneaker Street.....so packed that I was intimidated to stay for more than 2 photos.

The ever busy Mong Kok

Our friend took us to Tsui Wah Restaurant. This place is like a tourist magnate besides Yung Kee and Jumbo, therefore we made no plans on going there in the first place. I have to say, we were pleasantly surprised. The food is not to die for but it was fairly good. Authentic Hong Kong food?? I am not sure, since they have a signature dish called 'Swiss Chicken Wings' which doesn't sound very local.



I didn't have a chance to take photos of the Swiss Chicken Wings cos my friend already attacked them before I got the chance.


Stewed pork cartilage with instant noodles...the soft cartilage and flavourful sauce makes this dish better than the way it looked.

S ordered a hot plate prawn yee meen. It was very yummy.

This is an ordinary looking bowl of noodles but don't be deceived. It's very very tasty. It's a Hunnan Vermicelli with Shark Bone Broth.

I took this photo on the morning before going to the airport. That's the view from our hotel room.
Scary to see how close these apartments are next to each other.



My last meal in Hong Kong at the airport and I chose Fairwood, one of Hong Kong's fast-food chain simply because I can park my trolley close by. To be fair, Fairwood is a rather pleasant place to have a quick bite by HK standard because it's far more spacious and has a decent toilet.

So, that's the end of another great trip to Hong Kong. I aim to be able to visit every 2 years, at most.

Tweet

Follow @herworldly