Punjabi is one of Nanjing’s best Indian restaurants, with authentic Indian meals cooked by Indian chefs. There’s actually five Punjabis in China, one in Nanjing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and two in Shanghai. So they’re quite well established. This one is located conveniently right on Lion Bridge, and is almost directly across a little alley from the Golden Harvest Thai Opera Cafe.
There’s a great range of Kadhais, Murghs, Masalas and Vindaloos all for around the 40 yuan mark each, and rotis and naans for ten to twelve. There’s also “Chinese food Indian style” which will make anyone curious enough to try one, as well as South Indian style pancakes. There’s also Indian drinks like Lassi (sweet, salted or mango) and Jal Jeera all for 20 yuan. Tiger beers are 20 a can, spirit shots 22 – 30, and if you really feel like breaking the budget you can get a bottle of champaign for 350. There’s no toilet in the restaurant itself, but it shares a public toilet with the other shops/restaurants in the area. So if you’re new to China and you haven’t seen a mass public toilet here before, it might, how can I say, be a bit of a surprise. But if you’ve been here for a while, you’ll know what to expect.
Oh and here’s another tip – if you’re like me and you like your curries REALLY hot, you need to specify it and emphasise it strongly, otherwise (maybe because they’re Indian and they’re used to much hotter curries than Westerners) they don’t seem to take you seriously. They will deliver free within three kilometers, then you pay the cab fare after that.
