We have arrived on a Thursday just past 5:00pm. The location of Kamana Kitchen is right next to Daylight Mind Coffee Company, so it’s right next to the water. We are immediately seated. The place is empty. We have heard mixed reviews from friends, but it looks like they have a great menu. We are excited. Leise is very familiar with Indian food so she orders for us.  We decided to keep it light and food combine by going vegetarian. It was a good choice. Everything smells heavenly and everything tastes so very fresh.

We start with Vegetable Pakora: A mixture of shredded vegetables dipped in a special seasoned batter and fried. It is light flaky fried shredded vegetables served with two side sauces: a tamarin sauce and a cilantro, ginger dipping sauce with a little jalapeno which is fantastic. I am in awe. I am trying to remember when I have Indian food which tasted so fresh.

Our second appetizer is Vegetable Samosa: Two pieces of a delicious combination of potatoes, peas, herbs and spices wrapped in a crisp pastry. The potato inside is surprisingly fantastic with a perfect blend of hot spice. Not too thick or heavy. The flaky pastry wrap is crispy and still melts in your mouth. Any Indian meal would be remiss without a Mango Lassi. The mango lassi has a very strong cultured flavor. The taste and texture is, again, fantastic. Nice too thick a consistency, but smooth and easy to drink.

For the main course we ordered two dishes medium heat. Starting with Malai Kofta: Croquets made from soft homemade cottage cheese, potatoes and vegetables simmered in a delicious rich sauce infused with almonds. This single dish was worth the price of admission. Myriad flavors dance on my tongue with waves of flavor making me search for a proper description. This dish is mind blowing it is so good.

We also order Palak Paneer: A flavorful blend of spinach and cubes of delicate homemade cottage cheese. It has a light smooth flavor. Good, fresh and the spinach is not over powering, but not overly impressive. It’s just simply good. Leise loves it, but she loves the fried cheese. With the homemade sweet chili mango chutney the contrast is actually quite nice.

We complimented the main courses with Raita: Homemade natural yoghurt with grated cucumber and roasted cumin; and Mango Chuntey: Sweet and sour sauce made with raw mango.

To round our the the meal we ordered Onion Kulcha: Enriched white flour bread layered with chopped onions and fresh coriander. For a truly great experience, use the bread as a utensil and with your thumb and first two fingers scoop up the food with the bread. The experience keeps it fresh with no metal utensils in your mouth.

Leise just made it official, this is the best Indian food we have ever had. That is saying something knowing that she lived in New York for a while. Wow was that a great meal!

Portion were more than ample. We are full and only ate about half the food. We, of course, left a little room for dessert. We are letting dinner settle a bit. I find myself lovingly rubbing my belly in a clockwise circular motion with a smile of complete satisfaction. I never rub my belly in public… Again, I say wow.  The various spices are still dancing on my tongue. Wow! I finally look up and notice the waves from the ocean on the rocks just 30 feet away. I know it is an amazing meal when it can take my mind away from the ocean ambiance. Wow!

We finish with Pistachio ice-cream. It’s more of an ice milk made of ground up thin frozen milk and pistachios. Interesting. The flavor is good.

The only complaint I have is I felt like they were trying to move us along versus let us comfortably recline. The check was brought to us as we were packing up the take home food. I handed the check back to the gentleman as we ordered dessert and there was no push after that.

With the amazing food overshadowing the light breeze gently caressing our skin and  the waves on the rocks nearby, we are truly enjoying this experience and will come back again, very soon. For ambiance I give Kamana Kitchen 4 out of 5 surfboards. For food quality I give 5 out of 5 surfboards. For food flavor I give 5 out of 5 surfboards. For service I give 4.5 out of 5 surfboards. Overall I give it a 5 surfboards.

Mahalo,

James Christopher

ThruJimsEyes.com

http://www.tripadvisor.com/members/ThruJimsEyes