St. Charles restaurant offers Taste of the Himalayas

I have to admit that Indian food was one of those last culinary frontiers for me. Even growing up in multicultural Chicago, it was not something I ever tried.

So the lunch buffet at St. Charles' Taste of Himalayas is perfect for me and others who aren't as well acquainted with Indian food as we are, say, with Thai or Italian. What you'll find is a menu of familiar items with new spices and tastes.

Chef and owner Jack Bhandari - Nepali-born and raised who honed his cooking education in England - clearly understands some Americans' unfamiliarity with Indian cuisine.

"We ask (first-time customers) what are their taste preferences first, then we can recommend which dishes we believe they will like," Bhandari said. "The tandoori mixed dinner for two, that has several different meats served together, is one dish we recommend so that those new to Indian food can have a sample of the menu.

"About a quarter of our dishes are Nepali, which still features fresh ingredients but with less spices than most Indian food."

There's something for every palette on Taste of Himalayas' menu, which features 17 appetizers, nine tandoori dishes and a wide range of chicken specialties, lamb dishes, seafood picks, vegetarian offerings and specialty rice dishes - not to mention a number of distinct bread selections. The wait staff is very helpful in explaining the menu.

The restaurant's lunch buffet features three meat dishes along with several vegetarian (hot and cold) selections. Some basic dishes stay the same from day-to-day (like the khasi ko masu, a Nepalese dish of roasted goat), with the chicken and a few of the vegetarian dishes changing.

A sizzling dish of tandoori chicken served at my table with a basket of fresh naan bread began my meal beautifully. Tandoori is a cooking style in which meats and breads are charcoal-cooked inside a barrel-shaped clay oven (the "tandoor") at temperatures of 600 degrees. The chicken, even with a slightly charred skin, was moist and flavorful. I will eagerly return to try more tandoori selections.

The mixed vegetable pakora (deep-fried veggies coated with chick pea flour) was crisp and tasty and enhanced with the addition of a sweet/sour tamarind sauce. Pulav rice (saffron rice flavored with cumin seeds and peas) provided a great base for two vegetarian offerings - a wonderful dal makhani that was a just-right spicy mix of cooked lentils in a creamy garlic and herb sauce, and chana masala, a mix of sauteed chick peas with cilantro and a blend of northern Indian spices.

A very flavorful selection was the chicken makhani. Tender and juicy pieces of chicken were served in a creamy sauce of tomatoes, butter and mild spices. This one was a definite "go-back-to-the-buffet" pick as well as an easy choice for those ordering off the menu.

Taste of Himalayas' dessert menu is limited to four dishes. The tasty kheer is a basmati rice pudding flavored with almonds and pistachios, but the new experience was the gulab juman - golden-fried milk powder dumplings in a sweet, hot saffron syrup - another dish worthy of repeated trips.

Taste of Himalayas (celebrating its two-year anniversary on Aug. 4) offers an excellent place for both the experienced Indian food fan and for those trying it for the first time.

Taste of HimalayasInfo: 110 N. 3rd Street, St. Charles, (630) 444-1575, www.tasteofhimalayas.comCuisine: Northern Indian Setting: Comfortable yet upscaleEntrees: Lunch Buffet $9.95; dinner entrees $8.99 to $30.99Hours: Buffet available 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Dinner served 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. SundayFalse13282000Gulab jamun features golden fried milk pastry dumplings in a sweet hot saffron syrup at Taste of Himalayas.Laura Stoecker | Staff PhotographerFalse