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Diners are in good hands at Gaithersburg's 3-month-old Pasha Lounge. The hands belong to affable owner Abdelhak Abdelmoumen and his wife Imane who oversees the kitchen. Both are Moroccan natives.

Abdel-Moumen, as his business card reads, is no stranger to the restaurant business. This is his third enterprise in 13 years. He sold the original Taste of Morocco in Arlington this past spring and its offshoot in Silver Spring last fall.

Abdel-Moumen's latest restaurant may have a new name, but the menu is strewn with familiar Moroccan favorites and then some. Unlike his first two restaurants, Pasha also serves kebabs — in response to customer requests since the previous occupant of that space served them. The newest Pasha boasts an evocative dining room that features banquettes with cushions, walls stenciled to resemble tiles and Moroccan lights hanging from the ceiling.

Knowing harissa from harira is not necessary to enjoy Moroccan food. The first is a hot pepper sauce used to flavor couscous, while the second is a thick soup favored to break the Ramadan fast.

With cool weather here, soup is a natural starter. Pasha prepares two hearty ones — lentil, a staple, and harira, with more limited availability. Both are consumed with long-handled, large-bowled spoons.

Lamb and chicken are the stars here, but vegetarians can take heart. The menu includes veggie versions of bastilla, couscous and pasta plus the special Pasha veggie consisting of house rice served with vegetables in saffron sauce, prunes, raisins, almonds and chickpeas.

I have fond memories of the filo-filled chicken bastilla from Abdel-Moumen's former restaurant. This time, I chose to broaden my horizons. The stewed chicken with raisin and almonds in saffron sauce tastes great, but every other bite turns up small bones, somewhat of a nuisance.

Additional chicken choices include roasted chicken, savory chicken with lemon and olives, and spicy chicken with herbs, spices and jalape³os.

Couscous (steamed semolina) is a Moroccan starch staple and it couldn't have a better companion than chunks of lamb and veggies — unless it is lamb, chicken, sausage and veggies in the top of the line royal couscous.

Lamb is popular and served several ways with a side of rice. Lamb with prunes, a traditional dish, blends the savory and the sweet as does lamb with raisins and almonds.

Among special entrées are kefta (meatballs), merguez (beef sausage), red snapper and rouge (the fish of the day).

Save room for dessert. The baklava is nutty, cinnamony and sweet without being cloying and the tiramisu is first rate. "It may not be Moroccan," says a diner, but it's delicious!" To accompany them, try a teapot of sweetened Moroccan mint tea or a cup of Moroccan coffee.

As we enjoy dessert, a vision in a blue veil undulates into the dining room. To the Moroccan music she exercises muscles I could only dream of having. An expert with balancing a curved sword, this talented belly dancer is one of several Pasha engages. Free performances take place nightly around 7:30 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, a second show starts at 9 p.m. (This is strictly a hands-off operation. The deserving dancers leave a basket on the bar for tips.)

The service was attentive, yet after a while, became intrusive.

A children's menu offers a choice of pasta with or without meatballs, or chicken, meatballs and merguez sausage, each with rice and fries.

Abdel-Moumen is proud of his lunch special that includes soup, salad, a choice of entrée and mint tea or soda ($9.95).

Look for big things (maybe) at Pasha. Abdel-Moumen is trying to get a permit to have a live camel at the door for the restaurant's grand opening later this month. His novel request may take the City of Gaithersburg fathers by surprise. Abdel-Moumen is well prepared as well as determined; he knows just the farm in Leesburg that will rent a camel for the occasion.