Punjabi: Contemporary Indian Cuisine

A Pretty Spread of Punjabi’s New Presentation Style

One of the surprising things for me about coming to China was discovering that I love Indian food. I didn’t eat it growing up, as my parents just cooked Chinese food every day but I have grown to really appreciate a good curry during my years in Beijing and I have to give props to Gireesh Chowdhury, founder of Punjabi Indian restaurant on Lucky Street (across from Solana Shopping Center on Chaoyang West Road) for taking my curry obsession to the next level.

While I’ve been a loyal customer for years, I’m really excited for all the recent new developments. Gireesh has given the entire menu an overhaul and the result really goes to show that Punjabi is not your average Indian restaurant. Constantly making improvements and taking on a more contemporary presentation style with some pretty innovative recipes, Punjabi is on a league of its own when it comes to Indian cuisine in Beijing.

To do this new menu justice, we have been back four times over the course of a couple of weeks, each time to try out a smorgasbord of the new dishes. There are some on here that you definitely won’t see at other Indian restaurants around town and I also must say I love the sleek and stylish presentation!

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Jing-A Brewpub XFC: Time to Meat n’ Greet!

Jing-A Brewpub’s Killer Carnivore Platter

In case you hadn’t noticed, Big Smoke closed down and Jing-A Brewpub have moved in to fill the void. Technically, 京A had their own space within Big Smoke, but now the whole space is re-branded as Jing-A Brewpub XingFuCun (XFC) and this space and menu is entirely 京A through and through.

This is a big step up for the 京A guys who are excited that they now have a truckload more space to play around with. As such, this new location has an expanded menu and functions as a central kitchen to prepare smoked and cured meats for the original 京A Taproom in 1949 – The Hidden City in south Sanlitun. They’ve custom-built a new smoker, making BBQ a big focus here. We went over to check it out and see the results!

In addition to Jing-A beers on tap including both their collection of year-round beers alongside seasonal and experimental brews, they also feature guest beers and ciders. One thing worth noting (if you didn’t already know) is that they offer “BEER TO GO” – all their draft beers are available for take-away in 1L and 2L growlers, or you can get their Worker’s Pale Ale and Flying Fist IPA in 330ml bottles – RMB 100/115 for 4-pack or RMB 408/528 for a case of 24 bottles.

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Gung Ho! Goodness: New Heights featuring New Zealand Products

Gung Ho! Goodness

Known in Beijing as the service-oriented pizza company with delivery guys flying around the city with their hot pink flags shouting Go! Go! Go!,  Gung Ho! Pizza is officially a Beijing stalwart. I  still remember when Gung Ho! first opened in 2010 and they first started sending out the hot pink hats!

In the intervening period, they’ve been quietly going about being awesome – obtaining B company status (look it up if you don’t know what it is HERE), and continuing to strive to improve their service.

And while I know that the company’s co-founders Jade Gray and John O’Loghlen are both Kiwis through and through, they’ve really taken Gung Ho! to new heights in recent days with more and more New Zealand products being featured on their menu. Teaming up some of New Zealand’s best F&B companies like Silver Fern Farms for grass-fed, free-range beef, Moa Brewing for their craft beers and cider, and Anchor for all their dairy products, it’s awesome for Gung Ho! to give these fantastic products a platform to really showcase their potential!

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Migas’ “La Granja” Farmer’s Brunch: Spanish Rustic Breakfast

If you haven’t been to a boozy Migas brunch yet, where have you been?! Brunching in Beijing (and Asia in general) is a riotous affair with some incredible deals on offer.

Migas regularly updates their brunch offering and it hasn’t disappointed yet! From their last “La Feria” Andalucian Brunch to their latest incarnation – introducing Migas’ “La Granja” Farmer’s Brunch.

“This new brunch concept at Migas is simple, eat as you would in a small farmers village in Spain after waking up late on a weekend morning: eggs, bread, some home stew, roasted meat or fish…La Granja Farmer Brunch brings you some of the typical rustic “breakfast” dishes that you will find in different regions in Spain!

Spaniards have very abundant meals on weekend morning-afternoons, an affair with family and friends with a table full of dishes to enjoy. With this brunch, we offer the possibility to experience this “small Spanish farmer town feeling”. Regardless of the extent of your appetite, your dishes are all made to order so order as much as you please!“

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The Hatchery’s Tel Aviv Concept: Make Your Own Middle Eastern Mezze Boards

The Hatchery culinary world tour continues. This time Israeli cuisine is on the menu with chickpeas, eggplant and pomegranate galore!

I have written pretty extensively about the culinary incubator before, so if you want to read the back story of the Hatchery, click through here (about their previous Bird on Wire concept), here (even earlier Gail’s Caribbean Concept) and here (one of their first concepts, Soul Bowls).

One thing to note is that alongside the new concept menus, the Hatchery have now rolled out a greatest hits menu. You can get all your favourites from previous popups whenever you want! And while it’s great news that you can still get items from the previous food concepts, the focus of this article will be on their newest called Tel Aviv.

Hatchery’s latest concept, Tel Aviv, is a Middle East-inspired eatery featuring a selection of the region’s best dishes and flavours. Growing in renown as a culinary powerhouse, Tel Aviv is home to cooks and flavours from different backgrounds resulting in a rich tapestry of cuisines the region can be proud of. We’re excited to bring this experience to Beijing.

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FOoDiEs Crawl: A Charity Collaboration by 4 Fantastic Restaurants

November 11 & 12th: Crawl Your Way Through China World Shopping Mall

A collaborative event between four big names in Beijing’s F&B world and with the purpose of supporting a worthwhile and relevant cause, the BJ FOoDiEs team is responsible for creating the upcoming FOoDiEs Crawl. Here’s your chance to round up all the foodies you know so you can literally eat and drink your way through the new China World Shopping Mall.

For those who aren’t familiar with BJ FOoDiEs, they are a group that rounds up Beijing’s die-hard foodies who like to eat while supporting a worthwhile cause with monthly charity dinners. But instead of just hosting a dinner at one restaurant, they’re changing things up this November with an event that spreads across 4 restaurants and an entire weekend. While their events are known for hosting charity dinners at different restaurants around Beijing for an amazing price of RMB 100-150 per person, this month is a twist on their standard format. And FOoDiEs can all expect the same steal-of-a-deal they love about this group.

Selecting the new China World Shopping Mall as a prime spot filled with practically more restaurants than there are retail shops, BJ FOoDiEs has rounded up some of their favorite spots – 小Susu, Migas Mercado, HANA by Hatsune and F Bistronome – to offer an opportunity for foodies to eat your way through four restaurants who happen to all be conveniently located in one place. So foodies can “crawl” their way to each stop for a tasty bite and beverage.

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Bao House: Intimate Omakase

Introducing BAO HOUSE – no, not the German architectural movement (Bauhaus, same pronunciation but different spelling) and no, not the Opposite House’s gourmet food truck serving fusion baozi and mantou sandwiches (which was turned this past June into a dog-friendly pop-up called Summer Howl), the Bao House I’m talking about is the new little Japanese restaurant serving omakase-style sushi in an intimate, personable space.

Opened in the Topwin Centre next to Beyond Yakitori on the 3rd floor, Bao House is an unassuming looking place from the outside. Don’t let that fool you though, as what happens inside is pretty special!

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From Cali to China: Hatsune Hosts Ono ‘Aloha ‘Āina’ Pop-Up Dinners

‘Āina is a True Taste of Hawaii (Photo Credit: @BayAreaFoodCritics)

Hawaii is the dream. A tropical paradise drawing images from sleepy palm trees, pristine blue waves, and active volcanos to hip-swinging hula dancers in grass skirts and flower leis to sun-tanned surfers, ukuleles and tall tikis. If you ask me, I basically think about Moana.

With such rich diversity in the natural landscape, Hawaiian cuisine is a colorful tapestry of flavors and traditions that have been influenced by the settlement and immigration of indigenous Polynesians, European, Japanese, Chinese, and Americans. Before I continue describing how complex and unique Hawaiian cuisine is, let’s first get something straight – please delete Hawaiian pizza from any association with Hawaiian cuisine. Hawaiian pizza was, in fact, created by Greek-Canadian named Sam Panopoulos who originally came up with the controversial combination of canned pineapple on a pizza with ham.

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