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Whenever Arab restaurants fail here, it is blamed on Hong Kong: people don't like Middle East cuisine; they aren't sophisticated; they're too conservative.

Well, I'm sorry, but the customer is always right.

Because since Desert Sky opened less than a month ago, the place has been packed solid.

The aromas of yoghurt, dried lemon, dates and honey have drawn in lovers of great cuisine, and owner-manager Bahadur K C Shiva couldn't be happier.

After all, it isn't every day that a restaurateur comes out of Kathmandu to begin a little empire here. But Shiva and his happy band first opened Nepal, went on to Pizzarolla, and now has a real winner with Desert Sky.

First, the restaurant looks and sounds good. A few Tunisian hanging lamps, minimal decoration, clean and fresh. Quietly eclectic music (Indonesian gamelan, Arab singers, songs from Hair), with friendly yet never overbearing service by the all-Nepalese crew.

This was my first great Mideast meal ever in Hong Kong. Better yet, one of my guests was from Egypt (admittedly not one of the great culinary countries of the world) and was overwhelmed by the food.

While Shiva received his training in Bahrain, food of the Gulf states was awful. Lebanon and Turkey are the only places where herbs, spices and cooking reach ambrosial levels. And Desert Sky almost has it right.

'Almost' because the only Turkish dish on the menu, dolmas, was the only disappointment. The lamb and semolina wrapped in imported grape leaves was stringy and tough, and could be left alone.

But the rest is almost an embarrassment of riches.

Begin with the mezza deluxe, a plateful of Lebanese starters. The hummus was a rich dish of chickpeas, with fresh parsley leaves, the mutabbal grilled eggplant with yoghurt and herbs.

The usually boring tabouleh is actually a spicy mixture here. Customarily, chefs in the territory simply chop up some tomatoes and onions and add a few peppers.

But Desert Sky goes to town with fresh green onions, lots of garlic and couscous, marinated with a dressing that smelled of dry lemon peel and fruits. Utterly delicious.

Add to this sambusak, comprising feta cheese (the real Greek variety), spinach and minced lamb, served with oven-fresh pita bread.

It is a banquet fit for any sultan.

One guest insisted on shish kebab, which, again, is usually a disappointing cliche. Here, the New Zealand lamb was tender and fragrant. The difference was in the marinade of yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, with dried pomegranate and sesame seeds.

We eschewed the Mideast hammour fish since it wasn't available yet and they had substituted lingfish.

Instead, we had the salona rubian, fresh prawns cooked with fresh tomato paste and served with long-grain Indian rice and raisins.

Of the many chicken dishes, we chose dijaj jaitun, which is cooked with olives. Unfortunately, olives lose all taste when cooked, although the chicken was tender and the accompanying rice fragrant.

Also on the table (we shared all the dishes, rather than ordering for ourselves) was an okra dish, as good as I ever had in Beirut. The okra was fresh, cooked with sliced tomato, in a rich sauce of olive oil, vinegar and garlic, garnished with pungent coriander.

Quizi - pieces of lamb stuffed with Arab herbs and rice - was not available that night, but Shiva said this was one of the great dishes. At $88, we won't miss it next time.

Not all the desserts were available, for a good reason: the restaurant still hadn't found a good supplier of fresh dates, so the tamer bi tahina, or dates with yoghurt wasn't around.

The ummali - made with raisins, puff bread, cream and almonds - was dry, and could have used some honey, which also wasn't in stock. It will be next time.

Mahalabia, described badly as 'cornflour pudding garnished with pistachios', was sweet, soft, aromatic and luscious.

The tea was really Arabic, being scented with buds of cardamom and the coffee was, naturally, poured from a Turkish ibrik.

The white wine, listed on the menu as 'Greek, 1879' (though this referred to the date of the founding of the winery) had a silvery, tingling taste and was perfect, but I could have done with some Lebanese arak.

The price for this feast? Just over $800 for three. A bargain and, insh'allah, a place to visit over and over again.

DESERT SKY 36 Elgin Street (one block south of the Staunton Street exit of Mid-Levels escalator; Tel: 2810-7318; Hours: 11am-3pm, 6-11pm.



Banquet fit for a sultan