Kamal Palace

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Table of ten tonight for Margie's monthly wine activity, I declined on the wine tasting prior to dinner. Its too much wine and with nibblies too much food to enjoy dinner. We met at the Kamal Palace in Long Beach near the Marina, www.kamalpalaceus.com. It is on the lower level of the shopping area and faces the condos.

I was anxious to compare Kamal to the Himalayan. Kamal is larger and more formal and it seems to do a big business in spite of being hidden from view.

I ordered the assorted appetizers which consisted of Seekh Kabab, Samosa, Onion Bhaji, Vegetable Pakora and Chicken Pakora. None of the deep fried were greasy and the cauliflower in the Vegetable Pakora was slightly crunchy had good flavor. The Samosa was a bit smaller than the Himalayn but same nice light texture. The Onion Bhaji was very good. I could at least taste the onion, so that gets a nod above the Himalayan.

I ordered the Rosh Goghan but they had a different name for it. Portion was very large with a large side of rice. The lamb was good, sauce was ok. I do prefer the sauce at the Himalayan.

The difference between the two restaurants is at the Kamal Palace everything is served as a full size dinner with sides of bread and rice. So if you want a variety then you would have to make arrangement  with you dining companions to order different dishes and hopefully share. But then you would have a huge mass of rice leftover. This is a big negative for me. At the Himalayan we all order a dish, get rice as a separate dish. Lot of variety on your plate which is what I like. Its my personal preference.

This dinner would have been better served if it had been preordered and everyone shared food and cost. I did find that this separate ordering was a big turnoff for me. You were stuck with what you ordered.. Marc & Edie both ordered the Tandoori Grill and both had nothing but large portions of meat and nothing else but rice.

I would go back the Kamal Palace but only if dinner could be ordered differently. Some aspects of Kamal Palace has an edge over the Himalayn but I will  give the Himalayan a real edge because of the quality of the sauces and the way the menu is structured. I want to enjoy my dinner and prefer not to have leftovers to take home. Leftovers are never the same the next day and I don't go out to dinner to do my grocery shopping for the week.

I did not taste most of the wines brought tonight. Somehow it seemed like the table was extremely crowded and I drank was was very convenient for me. I missed the Curran Grenache and that is one I would have liked to try. The others I missed, I didn't feel that way.

2009 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2009 Clos Pepe Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills
2010 Etude Pinot Noir, Caneros
NV   Lamara Prosceco
2009 Clos Pepe Sparkling Rose of Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2011 Willamette Valley Vineyards, Pinot Gris, Oregon
2007 Curran, Grenache, Santa Ynez Valley
2011 Seal Beach Winery, Rose, California
2012 Cycles Gladiator, Chardonnay, Lodi
2010 Van Ruten, Zinfandel, Lodi
2010 Seven Angels Cellars, Denner Vineyards, Syrah