High on Himalayan fare

Sorry about the quality of the photos. Buffalo Wilbur insisted we try Deer Horn (Tel: 3484-3095) out for dinner, despite my protests that my crappy camera phone won't do the food justice. But hey, tummy ruleth all, as Buffalo Wilbur's dad loves to say, so we went anyway.

The restaurant still looks a bit bare (a few photos won't come amiss) but the welcome was warm. Pushpa, who owns it, is Nepalese and has lived in Lantau for more than a decade. Her chef worked in an Italian restaurant for quite some time, hence the slightly schizophrenic pairing of Nepalese/Italian food on the menu.

We took a table by the window, which was a mistake as it was also partially on the uneven wooden boards. So every time someone walked on the boards, the table would tip on one side and threaten to topple our curry. But that's probably just teething problems.

I am sure the Italian bit was good but we zeroed in on the Himalayan specialties.

The food was yummy. We tried the chicken momo (HK$55). The dumplings came with a home-made tomato-soybean chutney. They tasted almost like Shanghainese xiao long baos but the skin was a lot chewier.

Buffalo Wilbur loved the Nepalese lamb curry (HK$75). It was more watery than Indian curries but spicier than the local ones.

Halfway through our meal, Terry from The Bookshop walked in with a friend. He offered to let us try some of the yak's milk cheese that they'd ordered. I thought it would be strong tasting but it was actually a bit like a smoother cheddar. Must try the fried yak's cheese fritters next time.