Best Food In China

Location

All in all Punjabi is a good place to escape China and get your fill of Indian food. Punjabi caters to the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and even Indian tour groups, which says a lot of this establishment. Soon the restaurant will even have a Bhangra dance show. Punjabi will remind you of India and you won’t want to step outside back onto Lucky Street.

Stepping into Punjabi, you feel like you have been transported to India. Decorated with plush white couches, murals of India and beaded drapes you feel like you are in a decadent lounge. And with the restaurant’s viewing window, you can step into the world of the Indian chefs.

Punjabi is in the process of revamping their menu to include 30 wines from various countries like Spain, New Zealand and France, as well as adding new dishes to the menu that they have been experimenting with in the buffet. They already have a vast array of whiskey, rum, scotch, cognac, and good champagne. The buffet is temperature controlled to maintain freshness and has a large sampling of various Indian variations, though the food could be much warmer. You can get an excellent Gulab Jamun and Dal Gongo Jamuna, and an array of well-cooked dishes for only 88 rmb.

A must try is the Jeer aloo and Na Vrattan Korma, which were gorgeous, and the Afghan chicken tandoori was smoked bbq style. The Garlic Naan was very strong on the garlic and a great compliment to the food. The dishes come with mint sauce, tomato sauce and tamin sauce, which were very flavorful, and every dish can be ordered mild medium or very spicy. This includes any buffet dishes, and the staff is happy to bring you a different portion to your request. As a suggestion, I recommended you ask for it spicier, as they try to make it milder for the locals, but can taste slightly bland for those westerners who live and die curry.
The highlights were unexpectedly the Indian desserts, especially since when one thinks of Indian food you think of curry not dessert, but the Rasmalite which was milk based fried cheese, tasted like a thick angel cake with a great saffron punch. The Indian fruit pudding tasted like a banana split and banana cream pie, and was delectable. But the winner was the Carrot Pudding; it was like no carrot before. Not sweet or bitter, it was creamy and crunchy and was savory on the tongue.

All in all Punjabi is a good place to escape China and get your fill of Indian food. Punjabi caters to the Saudi Arabian Embassy, and even Indian tour groups, which says a lot of this establishment. Soon the restaurant will even have a Bhangra dance show. Punjabi will remind you of India and you won’t want to step outside back onto Lucky Street.

-- by Larissa Paschyn

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