Himalaya Cuisine - Ventura, CA

 

I have been burned out on my usual picks of food. Things have been blah to me lately because I have been lacking in variety so I decided to mix it up and eat at a place I have never been to... Himalaya Cuisine. It proudly serves food from India, Nepal and Tibet. I sat down and was given a menu that did not look too familiar to me so I made my best guess at what I would like and prayed it would be delicious.

While I waited for my food I noticed this ad for an Asian beer. How cute is the bottle?! 

They brought out a lentil soup called "Dal" that came with my Lunch Special order. It was lovely. The spices warmed me from the inside out. The ginger is the soup could be tasted and it gave me a comforting feeling that awakened my senses. 

After I licked my soup bowl clean my lunch special was presented in front of me. I ordered the Shahi Korma Chicken with rice and chutney. The chicken was so tender it practically melted in my mouth and the sauce of the korma was a tad spicy, I could have handled more but didn't want to be cocky my first trip out of the gate. The creamy base seemed to mild the spice. 

I will be back, for sure, ready to explore the rest of the menu... I still have a lot of countries to dine at it seems! The menu is separated by the regional cooking... How fun!

Channel Island Food Trucks - Oxnard, CA

Scott Good Taste did some foodie recon and discovered something that I had totally been missing out on... "Wet Wednesdays", a food truck gathering at the Channel Island Harbor in Oxnard. So after his evening session, we met up to get our tasting on! 

There were probably 10 trucks there and all seemed to be doing very good business. There were lines at every truck.

We started at an Indian food truck called, "India Jones Chow Truck". Scott ordered a Roti, which was basically like a burrito made with flat bread, housing chopped onions, tamarind chutney and grilled beef. He absolutely loved it and said he would return back next week to order just that. 

I ordered the "Aloo Tikki Chaat" which was a potato pancake topped with chickpeas, raita, chopped onions and chickpea vermicelli. It too was fantastic. Perfect portion size for the price, just four dollars. 

We took a break for a frosty beverage at Seafresh and cooled off our spicy mouth with a Mondos Cream Ale. I love that beer!

Next up Lobster Rolls! The Cousin's Maine Lobster Truck had the longest line so we decided we just had to get in on that action. We waited for about 15 minutes but chatted up nice people in line so it went really fast...

We ordered ours "Conneticut Style" which was hot with butter. $12 will get you this bad boy! It had tons of hope and anticipation riding on my first bite... drum roll please..... It was just ok. I ate the entire thing in three bites, and didn't crave more. I would most likely try something else next time, like the Lobster bisque they ran out of just before we hit the counter. 

But what fun! Thank you Scott Good Taste for the interactive eating experience. All you local readers better get out there and try it too. A lot of fun for the kids too!

Bollywood #4 - Ventura, CA

I have never had Indian food before so please excuse me if this post sounds like I have no idea what I am talking about:

Scott and I had this meal a couple weeks ago after seeing the movie, "Descendants" with George Clooney. Scott picked the movie because it was shot in Hawaii, that was the best part of the whole film. I cried, I always cry though. Anyhow, on our way out of the theater we decided we would give Bollywood #4 a try. 

Shortly after sitting down we were given a trio of chutney and a plate of freshly cooked flat-bread. Imagine these like chips and salsa as if you were at a Mexican food place. I loved it. It was spicy, sweet and salty if you mixed them all up on a piece of the crisp bread. My favorite part of the meal, hands down.

Ok, from left to right: Polau Rice, Shrimp Curry and Fish Coconut Curry. We didn't like it. Either we ordered the wrong thing or we just don't care for Indian food. I wanted to love it, I really did. I was kind of shocked because I usually prefer ethnic foods and spices.

Attention Indian food eaters: What do you order?