During my lecturer-days, I used to go on lots of food journey and though I’m miles away from the heart of Kochi I spent almost 4 hours of to-and fro journey for having a nice 1 hour-or-so food journey. Whether the 4 hour journey was worth it depends totally upon the quality of food experience I get and I’m talking about one such amazing moment of totally-worth-it here
Punjab Grill was on my top must-try list from the day I saw the banner on LULU and after waiting eagerly for long I finally got the chance to try it. (Yay!).
I was welcomed by a pretty woman with a pleasing smile and I was taken aback by the interiors. From the outside view it may look well furnished but doesn’t give us much hint of majestic grace hidden by those glass layers.
I was seated comfortably in a nice table and I was still trying to soak in the beauty of shiny interior when I was interrupted by a waiter with a pleasant and warming smile. His posture itself showed me the professionalism he carried along with him. He gave me two menus and left me to decide calmly on my choice of food. Being teased by food pics from EKE fellow beings for a while I had pledged myself that I would try some different dishes and made a blueprint of attack but once I saw the name Biriyani I lost my will to make free choices and ended up ordering CHICKEN DUM BIRIYANI and MASALA CHAI (Facepalm 🤦♂️.AGAIN.)
CHICKEN DUM BIRIYANI
From the first look at that gorgeous pot filled with the biriyani (which was more than enough for one person) came,I started liking it and the minute I opened the lid and felt the aroma and saw the beautifully presented biryani in it I knew I was in love!
The presentation was beautifully done with fried onions and a mint leaf. The rice was cooked with perfection and masala in it doesn’t overpower the innate taste of rice.
The chicken pieces ,which consisted of 4 medium ones, were soft but with a tiny bit of resistance when you pull the pieces to make this food-play interesting.
The side dishes which consisted of thinly sliced onions, mint chutney and raita was nice but nothing to talk about except the mint chutney which was smooth and tasty. But when you eat it rice along with the chicken, it really hit your spot and I sat back and enjoyed the look & taste aesthetics of this beautiful dish for a minute before quickly gulping it down. (FYI: Spicy-lovers won’t feel a thing for this dish so i won't recommend)
MASALA TEA
Masala Tea is just Tetley dip bag tea (which the waiter promptly informed me before I made my choice) so there is nothing much talk about here except the way it was served. The pot of hot water is brought to your table and the tea is made in front of you (which is not much but still something) and served gracefully by the waiter.
SERVICE
I usually don’t include a special space for this but this place deserved it for its excellent service.
Usually when it comes to fine dine experience there are three things that I look for
1)Food
- Ambiance
- Service
The Holy Trinity of any Hotel Business and one thing that seems to bother me most of the time was service.
Despite gaudy interiors and exteriors and excellent food, service-sector always seems to be weak link in many hotels with few exceptions. I’m not saying they are totally bad but it never feels like you get what you are paid for especially when the pay is on higher side.
When it comes to Punjab Grill,its a whole new different story. Clean and Smooth Service (based on this experience). Despite being a lone foodie, I was given a hearty-warm welcome which is rare because in some other hotels I have been served in 'different' ways than others because I was JUST ONE person (May be some people think its not economically profitable to serve just one or may be because I occupy table for 2 or 4).
In Punjab Grill, I was treated with utmost care and I found the waiter that served me was quite a professional and confident. He asks for our need and takes care of it promptly without much delays or hassles. When the biryani was served another waiter carefully served me the dish without making a mess out of it. In some places some waiters would just keep asking “hows your food” or “you need anything” before we can even dig in properly into our dishes which I find a little bit annoying because it breaks the food spell cast by some delicious food but in Punjab Grill they keep their distance when we are enjoying our food and comes near us only when we need them for real. Thus making sure of a uninterrupted food experience.
Because of the excellent service, I made sure to thank the waiter for his service after my yummy meal,for making my biryani feel extra special with their commitment to serving customers well.
Though the pricing might feel steep the overall all combination of food, ambience and service made the experience a TOTALLY WORTH it one! (For skeptic people out there,If you ask me if this is too much or if its worth it I would say it is totally debatable topic since experience might differ depending on individual taste and preferences)
So in the end I went to Punjab Grill with high expectation and I left that place with higher-satisfaction than expected and will return here for more..
IN SHORT
Punjab Grill is without a doubt a fine dine because of their fine food and finer interiors and even finer service.
The CHICKEN DUM BIRIYANI was excellent and caught my attention with its presentation. The rice was well cooked and soft and the chicken was juicy enough for me. The sides were just ok except the mint chutney which was really good.Quality and Quantity-wise its thumbs up for me but won't recommend for spicy-lovers.
MASALA TEA was ok and not worth elaborating over much since its just Tetley dip tea (which the waiter did inform me before placing the order) although it was served gracefully. Since they have done a job-well-done with food, ambience and especially excellent service, I found this experience totally worth it (y)
Rating- 9 out of 10