On the way into Taste of the Himalayas in La Jolla, a patron on the way out told us that we had to get the tandoori chicken tikka. There was a strong scent of smoke in the place, which had clearly turned off its smoke detectors a long time ago, and we figured this departing patron must have known what she was talking about.
Thus, we began with the tandoori chicken tikka. It arrived like a plate of fajitas – steaming up the place to accompany the smoke. The chicken was good, although not exactly something I would declare every stranger walking through the door should order.
We also ordered a little something called Momo, which are a part of why this restaurant is called Taste of the Himalayas and not Taste of India. That’s because momo are Tibetan specialty (that have spread throughout South Asia). They are steamed dumplings that are generally filled with whatever is available. In this case, since we don’t live in the Himalayas and have choices, we opted for the chicken variety. They came with a “Himalayan” sauce that was pretty good and while I enjoyed the dumplings, our resident South Asian expert at the table let us know that they weren’t anything special.
As for my main course, I went with the Chicken Korma, because that is generally my favorite Indian dish. Taste of the Himalayas served it up pretty solidly.
Ultimately, Taste of the Himalayas churned out a solid meal. None of the dishes stood out to me in particular, but they were far from being bad. If you’re in La Jolla looking for Himalayan food, Taste of the Himalayas will do. But I wouldn’t exactly make it a destination.