Is kung pao chicken experimental? It could well be. In fact, even a decade ago, you'd be considered gutsy for ordering the dish and probably also be the odd one out among a batch of safe players who could have opted for anything between butter chicken and gobi manchurian. Things are different today. How else does one explain the opening of eight major standalone restaurants, all located in prime neighbourhoods, and all of them Mediterranean?

But in 2004, Moshe's was the first of its kind, and it became a sort of icon in the city when it came to Middle Eastern food. Today, Moshe Shek, its owner, is thrilled to hear that there is in fact something called World Hummus Day.