20200124 Himalayan Kitchen and Elephant Walk DRINK: Campari/Espresso Martini TURN: Elizabeth

It all started with a suggestion from Richard... let's meet and eat in North Adelaide because I'm seeing a concert there and I may be able to join you for the meal. At the very least I'll join you for a coffee afterwards... well... note to self... don't take Richard's advice. :-)

It was my turn to choose and I was partially influenced by Richard's suggestion - which was a great one - as it turned out.

Con, Chad, Stephen and myself met at the popular Lion Hotel. What a great place! Full of activity - lots of different age groups. The perfect weather to sit outside and while away the hours.

The Fuphy's were $10 bucks a pop, so Chad, Stephen and I endulged. Stephen also had the Asahi Beer to start with, which is Japanese I think. He prefered the Furphy's.

Tonight, we tried something a little different. Chad choose to have a martini glass with Espresso Martini. I'd never heard of it before. I don't know why it's called a martini, because there's no martini in it...

Stephen bought a bowl of chips which the nearby pidgeons also liked and were walking around our feet in the hope of some castaways.

 We had a very large black St Bernard dog sitting at the table next to us. The choice was to either walk around him or to take a leap of faith and do one giant step over him in the hope he didn't move.

We saw Richard's brother at the table next to us. He didn't see us and we left him alone because it looked like he was with family.

One point to say about the Ladies Toilets in the Lion Hotel. I was very impressed with the decor. The washbasins were floating in the centre of the room with a curvy figure 8 shape. And what impressed me the most was a clear plastic chair - very swish...

The evening was off to a great start, but it was just about to get even better...

The Himalayan Kitchen was about 350 metres up the road from the Hotel. Chad and Con strolled up and Stephen and I drove. It was a very unassuming shopfront - nothing to suggest anything special on the inside. However, as soon as we stepped through the door, it had something to offer. Rich, warm, vibrant wall hangings and textured wallpaper - an inviting setting. We had the perfect table by the front window.

The drinks continued... Stephen had a house Cab Sav, I had a Campari (with soda). I'd never drunk it before. It was a bit of an acquired taste. It had a perfumed, sour/bitter back taste. I drank it all but probably wouldn't have another one in a long while.

It was Chad's turn for a mention on the fashion front. Chad was wearing a black and white New Zealand shirt with leaves - very cosmopolitan...

Let's get onto the food now..

There was lots of meals that we hadn't tried before. I ordered 2 entrees. Pakora onions - there were 4 of them so we all had 1 each. It was a dense cake with onion mixed with chickpeas. Not bad.




I also ordered Momo Vegetable steamed dumplings - not something you would normally think of from a Nepalese restaurant, but I guess that's the influence of the Chinese. Again 4, so we shared. It had a rich hot and spicy sauce similar to the Dumplings R Us flavour. It had a bit of a kick.


When we were ordering our meal, we were interupted by a table having a birthday song. The chef came out and blew on his Tibeatan Horn and all sang 'Happy Birthday' - very nice.

One small touch that would have made it even better is if the plates had been warm when served.

Stephen and Chad had the Festival Chicken. It looked like it had plenty of vegetables and came in a thick, tomato sauce. We had a large bowl of rice that was plenty for all.

Con had the Sherpa lamb curry. It looked alot, mainly meat. Con commented afterwards that it could have been enhanced with a few veggies and less potato.

Stephen ordered the Roti bread with garlic, Con had the plain roti.

I had the chickpea and prawn curry - Tharu Macha. The chick peas were very delicate and the prawns were amazing. Very soft. My only comment is that it could have done with some veggies.

Scores for the main meals:
Con - 7
Chad - 9
Elizabeth - 8
Stephen - 8

The best was left to last. Stephen was invited to have a go at the LARGE horn. It took a few goes, but he ended up belting out an 'Indigenious' sounding noise much to the delight of the fellow patrons who clapped at the end.

We were also given the SINGING bowls to try out. Some of the larger ones were easy to generate a sound. The smaller ones were harder. The idea is to hold the bowl in the palm of your flat hand then rub the stick around the outside rim of the bowl creating a vibrating sound.

A lot of fun was had by all.

After the meal, we strolled literally across the road to the 'Elephant Walk' - a very small unassuming shop front that looked closed until you got closer.

This is a MUST for anyone who wants a late night coffee and dessert. It's unique interior and atmosphere makes it a perfect way to end the Friday night.

My first impression was that it was a massage parlour - the red lights were very dimmed, and it had little booth like seating separated by cane and plants.

We all struggled to view the menu and had to use the conveniently placed lamp at the edge of the table to see what we wanted. Con stuck with his Cappuccino. I had a milk hot chocolate. Both Stephen and Chad had a dark hot chocolate. Stephen and I shared a Sticky Date Pudding with ice-cream and Chad had waffles.

A novel cafe well worth a visit.

Now, I have to say that Chad mis-heard me earlier in the evening when we had the SINGING bowls out at the Himalayan Kitchen. Chad thought I said Singing MOES - hence the picture here. But I swear I never said anything of the sort... I maintain my innocence...