Final ‘Eat 4 Haiti’ Hurrah Dinner @ Punjabi

Punjabi should get a lot more credit.

I admit I am not an expert on Indian cuisine and I have never been to India , but I’ve tried pretty much every Indian restaurant in Beijing from Tamarind @ the Marriott Northeast to the Ganges & Taj Pavilion chain, Indian Kitchen, and Mughal’s, and there is for sure a reason why Punjabi’s got such a loyal following (my friends aside, Punjabi is the designated destination for Indian tour groups visiting China AND they cater to the Saudi Arabian Embassy). Not too shabby.

At first glance, there are a few reasons why Punjabi may not stand out:

1. Punjabi’s location is far from central, tucked away on Lucky Street – a street with the most diversely random combination of venues from a giant Nashville Bar to Japanese teppanyaki, a German bakery and a newly opened Chinese restaurant called the Lobster House.
2. Punjabi does not advertise and they are not always listed in magazines, which can make them seem overshadowed by the extensive list of other Indian restaurants in the city.

However, when you do actually step inside, you will find only Indian chefs serving up authentic North Indian cuisine. The dishes are flavorful and satisfying rather than heavy and artificial and the products they use are high-quality and fresh. The meat is tender, the recipes traditional.

The owner, Gireesh is very professional and a super nice, down-to-earth guy.  He reached out to me initially to join the ‘Eat for Haiti’ campaign and when my friends all chose to have our final get-together dinner at Punjabi, Gireesh booked out the entire second floor for our dinner party, helped us take care of the ordering, and even surprised us with a dance show! The service was great, the food was beyond our expectations and everyone left happy and full.

Review of Punjabi: On Lucky Street, Chaoyang Gongyuan Xilu 朝阳公园路C-8号二层 21世纪饭店西门对面好运街   Tel:  5867-0221/23

Best Part:

• Authentic Indian cuisine that will get you coming back again and again…and again
• Great service and a nice touch to have the owner, Gireesh, attending to customers on a daily basis
• Greats deals include a lunch buffet for RMB 48, dinner buffet on Tuesdays for RMB 68 and Weekend buffets for RMB 88 per person which includes 21 items plus unlimited beer & soft drinks.  Amazing deal.

Comments:

• Don’t judge a restaurant by its cover – location may be a little out of the way, but a worthy destination for quality Indian food.
• They are currently working on finalizing a new menu that will feature photos of all their dishes, a big help to those who may not be as familiar with Indian cuisine. But rest assured, regardless of their menu, they are great at recommending dishes – my personal favorites include the combination tandoori meat platter, butter chicken, prawn curry, and mushroom masala.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 7
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 8

Satisfy your Sweet Tooth

Comptoirs De France is hands down my favorite new bakery.

I’m a little upset with myself for not discovering this place sooner!  With six locations around Beijing, I’ve always noticed it and wanted to try it, but until yesterday, I had yet to experience the awesomeness that I now know is Comptoirs De France.

Once I stepped inside, I immediately got myself acquainted by ordering a cup of terrific hot chocolate and a rich mini Chocolate Tartlet. I left with two loaves of bread and an assortment of ten different kinds of mini bite-sized pastries (RMB 7 for each).

More than just a French bakery with chocolates, it is a delightful cafe with an assortment of treats from loaves of fresh bread, perfect croissants, sweet tarts, macaroons, ice cream, they even sell chocolate Eiffel Towers for heaven’s sake.

Review of Comptoirs De France: 6 locations – East Lake Villas, China Central, Ritan Park, Lido, Riviera Plaza & Europlaza.I visited: East Lake Club, 35 Dongzhimenwai Dajie 东直门外大街号东湖俱乐部, Tel: 6461-1525

Best Part:

• Chocolate Tarts, Chocolate Eclaires, Chocolate Crossaints, Hot Chocolate, and I hear their Chocolate Fondue is brilliant.
• It’s really quite unfair that I would limit this bakery to their perfected chocolates.  I really ought to give them due credit for their freshly baked breads, other non-chocolate pastries (lemon tarts and strawberry cheesecake tarts also come highly recommended), as well as their savory sandwiches, salads and soups.
• Very well managed, personable, and professional.  Quality you can count on AND they have wi-fi.
• They cater, custom-design wedding cakes (yes, I did ask), and they always do something special during the holidays (i.e., Giant Chocolate Santas during Christmas and Giant Chocolate Hearts during Valentine’s Day)
• After 7:30pm, all pastries are buy-one-get-one-free.
• They deliver with a minimum order of RMB 75.

Comments:

• Even with six locations, there is not one close enough to me to visit on a daily visit.  Plans are in the making to move somewhere in Sanlitun and Chaoyang Park West Gate.
• Until then, despite the distance, I plan on becoming a regular. They can count on that.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 9
• Atmosphere: 7
• Service: 7
• Overall Experience: 9