Punjabi Kitchen Indian Restaurant (Henderson, New Zealand)

We barely dine in at an Indian restaurant I guess because we as Filipinos are not raised in this type of cuisine hence our palates are not adjusted to the overload of flavours and spices in one dish but having moved here in New Zealand our preferences changed as we started to get exposed with cuisines like this. We had lived in Malaysia before but we barely tried their Indian offerings as it was too spicy for us little that we know we will start to like it here.

It all started with the Butter Chicken when we first saw that dish on food courts in malls here in Auckland, at first we were intrigued why a lot of people order them in fast food stalls like Shamiana and Spice Traders, what’s even better those who order them are non-Indians and the expression on their faces when they dip their hot naan’s on the bright orange gravy was priceless so we decided to try.

Since that first try we can never get enough of this Butter Chicken addiction which led to trying out other offerings like Mango Chicken, Korma and Rogan Josh which expanded our palate and started the love for this cuisine that is why once in a while we make sure to have some Indian in our system.

One of those days is when we visited the son of our close friend in a hospital in West Auckland and before heading off we saw this place just beside Chikos a famous fusion restaurant here in Auckland, there were many people dining in at Chikos so we dined in here instead which we never regretted. The place was huge, it was clean and ambiance felt like a first class restaurant, with dim lighting and ample space this type of establishment is reserved usually in Hotel lobbies. As we sat we were immediately offered the menu.

We first ordered some Samosas (3 pieces/$6.50) to start with, this pastry stuffed with spicy potatoes & peas is a perfect starter, it’s not so spicy but just enough to tingle your taste buds and activate that hidden hunger inside you.

Then an Indian dining in New Zealand will not be complete without the most loved Indian dish in here, the Butter Chicken ($14.50). The marinated chicken fillets roasted in the tandoor oven and cooked in a creamy sweet savoury spicy tomato gravy is too hard to miss, this is what I call the Indian comfort dish.

First two was quite mild so I ordered a spicy one in the form of Lamb Korma ($14.50). Tender lamb pieces are cooked with a gravy of cashew nuts, almonds, sultanas & very mild spices, they might call this mild there but its Indian mild not Kiwi mild, I love it, this dish was perfectly seasoned with the right spices, not too hot but just enough to zing and still taste every flavour there is.

Then we also had some Butter Naan ($3.00), this is an important part of the order as this serves to grab all that gravy out of the curries.

Up to now I can call this my favourite Indian restaurant it’s a complete package, staff was great, place was clean, we felt really nice when we were there and most importantly the food was great.

We will definitely come back here to try their other offerings and hopefully we pass by the place in the near future as it was quite a travel from where we are, I am not wishing another hospital visit but might be some other agenda that might happen near the place.

Punjabi Kitchen Indian Restaurant
Address: 255 Lincoln Rd, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand
Website: http://www.punjabikitchen.co.nz/