First taste: Himalayan Kitchen

The inside

The space inside is cozy and warmly-lit, while outside on the lanai, we catch the fiery hues of the sunset. All our attention, though, is focused on the menu, which is rather bewildering with over 60 items, many of them unfamiliar. There are the more recognizable Indian dishes, like tandoori chicken and naan, as well as "Nepali homestyle favorites." The friendly servers, by now used to handling the question "What is Nepali food?" describe Nepali cuisine as more lightly spiced and drier (less of the saucy curries) than Indian food.

There's also a section of the menu titled "Himalayan fare with a touch of aloha," which showcases the fusion food of Nepal. Nestled between China and India, Nepal offers up a cuisine influenced by the two countries, resulting in dishes that draw inspiration from Chinese noodles and dumplings, but are flavored with Indian spices. It's all so enticing, we don't know where to start. Luckily, the servers have quite a few suggestions, and we go with those.