Right after unloading our one piece of luggage and getting our rental car, we headed straight to Kihei for lunch. Why? Because we had lunch reservations at Monsoon in Kihei. I actually did slow down a bit right after exiting the Thrifty yard just to see if the light was flashin' in the Krispy Kreme shop... no luck, so I headed straight for Kihei.
I actually found Monsoon India on the www.opentable.com website. Ever since Bombay Restaurant in the Discovery Bay closed, the Mrs has had her share or biryani withdrawals. After discovering Monsoon, I made our reservation right after landing at OGG. Monsoon is located several blocks from the 1st side street leading off of the Piilani Hoghway into Kihei. It's on the ground floor of the Menehune Shores complex with a separate parking area (park within the yellow lines) and faces the Kihei shoreline.
We started with the Appetizer Sampler which included Vegetable Pakora or vegetable fritters, Aloo Tiki or spiced potato cakes and Samosa or stuffed wonton-like wrappers with spices, meat and peas. This was served with both a tamarind? based sauce and a cilantro-parsley? based sauce that the Mrs kept for subsequent dishes.
I also ordered a Mango Lassi or a tradtional yogurt and mango "smoothie" which helped neutralize some of the "heat" from the spices. The Mrs has been watching "No Reservations" a little too much as she thought I ordered a "Bang Lassi" or the same yogurt based drink infused with... "herbs" (of the ganja variety).
We also sampled the Keema Naan or turkey and spice stuffed leavened bread.
I then proceeded to indulge in my Monsoon Kabab plate which included Tandoori Chicken on the bone, boneless Chicken Tikka (some of the MOST tender grilled chicken I've ever encountered), Lamb Sausage and Grilled Shrimp served with Masala Sauce (the same Masala used in curries).
While the Mrs was in heaven with her Chicken Biryani. As mentioned, Monsoon's biryani is on the drier side like a pilaf though that's exactly how the Mrs likes it and you could taste individual spices like cardamom and coriander. She even ventured with the "medium" spiced version - it did make me sweat a little... ok, a LOT and it was served with a Raita or yogurt and cucumber sauce.
Monsoon also offers a lunch buffet for $15.95 which looked great with about 8-10 different selections but the Mrs was all for the biryani (which isn't on the buffet list). If we lived in South Maui or any part of Maui for that matter, we'd make regular trips to Monsoon India. And we found out that a sister Monsoon recently took over Bombay at the Discovery Bay so we'll make a trek there... very soon.
Monsoon India
Located at Menehune Shores
760 South Kihei Rd
Kihei, HI 96753
Phone: (808) 875 6666
Fax: (808) 875-7771
For Delivery: (808) 875-7766
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