It is often true that you do not just go to a restaurant for the food entirely, but when you come across a place that gets everything right, we should hold onto it and never let it out of our sight. It deserves to be praised. This is New Punjab Club. Too often I have eaten in restaurants where the food is very high-level yet the service sucks and I never want to step foot in there again. Either because it is arrogant or too self-important or for other reasons entirely: the dining room failed in its surroundings, or the waiter put his big fat foot in it. They got your back up within the first five minutes and they were too oblivious to even realise it… You know what? This was one of my most enjoyable nights in a restaurant in ages, because it wasn’t just about the incredible food, the team have a natural and realness to the service, making you feel well at ease, they believe in what they are doing and they believe in the food that is being delivered to your table and this is important. I have seen that this level of passion in front of house has died in the west, yet it is still alive and kicking here in Hong Kong! New Punjab Club reconfirmed to me that this IS still existing and it made me happy. Jun and his team are a complete joy to watch and listen to, your passion passes over to theirs and it is a melting pot of delight.
For the food, Bold is the word, but elegantly refined, perfectly balanced in the flavours, with nothing seemingly out of sync anywhere in anything! One dish that we had never had before, (Let us say in this type of restaurant, cooked in the tandoor), was black Angus ribeye, served with a kabocha chutney, and beetroot raita. You always expect there to be some kind of chicken dish on the menu, but not this and boy it was good. It released such a juiciness from the cut, and the flavour coming off it, mouth-wateringly bang on. Of course, you had char as well which only added another layer of flavour. Dip it into the beetroot raita and you do not exactly know what to do with yourself! Whilst pulling faces signalling to say “mmm this is so tasty” If I was to have just this grilled now, it wouldn’t give me the same impact, however everything does have a time and a place.
All manner of things in this ‘club’ tells a story (Even the curve of the seating and the plates) Jun, had the pleasure of bringing these stories to life, whilst you were eating, creating a unique idea in your mind. Passion has the power to deliver greatness; with passion you can do anything you wish when you put your mind to it, and they have bucket loads of that here. An important thing to note- You can’t navigate this menu without trying one of their curries- Initially I was going to skip it but in the end that would have been a terrible idea. Yes, the focus is on the tandoor, but you want something with ‘gravy’ as well for some contrast and something to dip that garlic nan in. It had to be Mughal Room Makhani- Chicken tikka, spiced tomato, and butter. (Bet you are not surprised at my choice) I have a real issue when the chicken is not tender and the chef or cook, simmered the life out of the protein and then you feel as though you are chewing for days and then it’s far too tough. Not here… The chicken is obviously placed into the tandoor first (You can also see the holes in it) and it is cooked exactly right. Moist, good chunks of the chicken thigh in there with an expertly balanced sauce. Each mouthful leaves you wanting another. It could not have been put together any better really. Now the garlic nan- This one is elegant; it does not bend like the ones you are used to; with huge air bubbles popping out, it is a little bit like a pizza dough. Superb. Even the dessert was delicious, Jun mentioned rice pudding and that was it, choice made! At the end of our night, I was excited to see the tandoor, this was epic… 40 years old and chef Palash explained how to season it. You just had to cover your palm over the top to see how hot it was, it’s the business, I loved it. Ok look, you do not go back to a restaurant if the food is not good, even if you had a lovely time. Marco Pierre White, I am always thinking about what you said about this! Here is one of those places he is talking about, it delivers an experience, a chance for you to connect, you want to go back, which is frankly speaking rare these days. And when the food is up there at the right level as well, you have made it. The New Punjab Club has something good going on and it is here to stay.
