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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Stuff Your Face with Cookies for a Great Cause: 4th Annual Cookie Monster Bake-Off

The Hutong + LDS Brings You an Event that Would Make Cookie Monster Go Bonkers

For all you Cookie Monsters in Beijing, get ready to eat your heart out!

An annual event co-hosted by The Hutong and yours truly, this is the event that gets me as giddy as Christmas does each and every year. Designed for insatiable cookie addicts who have a bottomless pit for homemade, stuff-your-face-silly cookies, we’re about to make your cookie dreams come true this Sunday, March 19th from 2PM-5PM.

Our Cookie Monster Bake-Off will feature 21 different types of creative cookies, each one made from scratch by 21 brilliant bakers based in Beijing. There will be more than your fair share of cookies to munch your way through, it really doesn’t get much better than this!

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Cookie Heaven: 3rd Annual Cookie Monster Bake-Off

Get that Glass of Milk Ready, You’re About to Enter Cookie Heaven

Cookie Monster’s dream-come-true, Beijing’s sweet tooths are in for a real treat this coming weekend. An event designed for insatiable cookie addicts and have a bottomless pit for homemade, stuff-your-face-silly cookies, we’re all about that cookie.

But I’m not just talking about any cookie. I’m talking 20 different types of creative cookies, each one made from scratch by 20 brilliant bakers based in Beijing. There will be more than your fair share of cookies to munch your way through, it really doesn’t get much better than this!

From chewy and gooey to salty cookies, vegan cookies and crafty variations of your classic Chocolate Chip cookies, we are very proud to announce the top contestants who have made the cut and will be competing in this year’s Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off!

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Punjabi Indian: Meatless Mondays Vegan Buffet

Make Your Mondays Meatfree at Punjabi’s Vegan Buffet

In an effort to promote more sustainable practices into your daily lifestyle and reduce carbon footprint, owner of Punjabi Indian restaurant’s Gireesh Chowdhury is proud to showcase his weekly Meatless Monday Vegan Buffet.

Every Monday night, head to Punjabi for a Variety of Vegan Dishes

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Punjabi: 8 Year Anniversary Bollywood Bash

Let’s Raise a Glass for Punjabi’s 8th Anniversary!

(Photo from Chi Fan for Charity Dinner 2012)

This Wednesday, April 8th marks the 8th anniversary of my favorite Indian restaurant in Beijing – Punjabi! With my close proximity to Punjabi’s location at the south end of Lucky Street (the strip of restaurants just north of Chaoyang Park West Gate), this restaurant is not only my go-to place when I’m craving curries but it’s also now become my favorite delivery service when I want amazing food fast (recommended if you live in the Chaoyang Park neighborhood).

Having been open in Beijing before the Olympic mad rush that consequently led to a flurry in the capital’s F&B industries, Punjabi has flourished under the test of time, in spite of the Beijing food scene’s fickle tendencies. And what I admire and respect most about Punjabi is that they are always looking to improve and innovate with new dishes and drinks on a regular basis (which keeps me coming back time and again). Most recently, they’ve been hard at work getting ready for the upcoming launch of their upstairs modern Afghan Lounge concept called Bamiyan -another event to look forward to!

But this Wednesday, it’s time to raise a glass and celebrate all the feasts, parties and good times Punjabi has hosted over the past 8 years with a full-on Bollywood bash!

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LumDimSummary: Cookie Monster Bake-Off 2015

LumDimSum & The Hutong Host their 2nd Annual Cookie Monster Bake-Off!

Cookie Monster’s DREAM-COME-TRUE, the 2nd annual Cookie Monster bake-off’s display of drool-inducing cookies was unparalleled in both talent and creativity.

Having taken place this past Saturday, March 14, the event was co-hosted by LDS (yours truly)+ The Hutong featuring 19 different baking contestants (18 of which were brand new to sign up!). These were the baking finalists who made it through a tough screening process in order for us to present the best of the best cookies we could find.

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BJ FOoDiEs: “Gift of Bread” Carnivore Charity Feast

 BJ FOoDiES Take On Guinea Pig Role for FEAST’s Carnivore Club

LumDimSummary: Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off

LDS + The Hutong Team Up to Create Beijing’s 1st Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off!

On Saturday, December 7, The Hutong Community Center hosted its first ever Cookie Monster Charity Bake-Off!

A creation by yours truly, this event showcased many of Beijing’s Best Bakers (both professional and up-and-coming) to indulge the city’s most avid cookie monsters in an effort to support a wonderful community charity – a non-profit organization called Bridging Education and Mobility (BEAM) that seeks to connect teachers in rural and migrant schools with the resources to help their classrooms succeed.

Through the event’s raffle ticket sales, a portion of the total bake sales throughout the day and entrance tickets, we raised over RMB 7,560 to fund at least 5 upcoming education projects for BEAM – to support and provide resources to educators in rural and migrant schools in China for BEAM!

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