Punjabi Tadka Indian Restaurant, South Pattaya

[Jingthing]

There is a new Indian restaurant the Indian food lovers are going to love, and even more sweet, you are going to love the price!

Authentic tasting Punjabi style (north India) food. Spiced very well, if you ask for hot, it WILL be hot, no worries. Tandoori oven. Menu items you won't see at typical Indian places in town. Examples mutton samosa, 2 big ones for 60 baht, small portion excellent tandoori chicken 80 baht, world class stuffed kulcha bread 40 baht, shabnam curry with paneer 140 baht, mutton biryani served with side curry sauce 140 baht.

They have only been open two weeks. Don't all go at once. They already do more business than they can handle. That's what happens when you offer fantastic food for an amazing price. Seriously, they are a new restaurant in their shakedown cruise phase, if they are busy when you come, there will be a long wait, be tolerant or wait to go when they are less busy.

You will thank me. You're welcome.

Location, find the hotel on this map --

http://www.hotelbeverlyplazapattaya.com/images/map_big.jpg

It's some blocks to the left of that hotel (towards Jomtien) on the opposite side of the street.

This one is so good I wasn't sure whether to share it. But then my ego intruded when I realized someone else was sure to break the news, so it may as well be me.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Jingthing

[soihok]

Thanks in advance.

Will be in town next month with the tribe.

[Julieflowers]

We are moving to South Pattaya this week from the North side. Can you give directions as we will certainly pay a visit asap

We came from the Middle East and oh how we miss cheap and good quality Indian food.

[Jingthing]

See the map. You may also like the Pars Cafe on the same street, low priced casual Iranian place. Not quite the same level as Punjabi place though. Quite good also is Shamy Taste Pan-Arabic restaurant on the same street, same side as Beverly Plaza Hotel, corner of Soi 17, their sign says Lebanese but not exactly. To those who know the area the Punjabi place is really close the really old Indian buffet place (now 219 baht, not really recommended). Find that and Punjabi is close to it on the right towards Pattaya. Punjabi place is somewhat of a dive, explaining the prices, there are outside and inside aircon seating options available.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Jingthing

[BSJ]

So let me get it straight. According to your map we head towards Jomtien...and not turn left at the intersection. And it's on the East side of the 2nd road. Will it have a big sign?

"Punjabi Tadka Indian Restaurant"

lite up with neon...or is it just a sign on the front of the building. The info will help if someone (me) is riding along on a motorbike. Or GPS co-ordinates would do!

[Jingthing]

So let me get it straight. According to your map we head towards Jomtien...and not turn left at the intersection. And it's on the East side of the 2nd road. Will it have a big sign?

"Punjabi Tadka Indian Restaurant"

lite up with neon...or is it just a sign on the front of the building. The info will help if someone (me) is riding along on a motorbike. Or GPS co-ordinates would do!

OK, I only included the hotel map because I don't know of a website with a map that shows anything CLOSER to the restaurant.

From the hotel (which is on the east side of the street) walk or drive towards Jomtien (no turns, I just mean if you were standing in front of the hotel you would go in the left direction in reference to the map). The restaurant is on the west side of the street, it is not lit up with neon, it is easy to miss as it is rather small and kind of recessed, it is painted an Indian type color of ORANGE. Now I remember the name of the buffet place, it's Kohinoor. If you reach Kohinoor, you have gone too far, it's a little bit back towards Pattaya from Kohinoor on the same side of the street.

[QED]

So let me get it straight. According to your map we head towards Jomtien...and not turn left at the intersection. And it's on the East side of the 2nd road. Will it have a big sign?

"Punjabi Tadka Indian Restaurant"

lite up with neon...or is it just a sign on the front of the building. The info will help if someone (me) is riding along on a motorbike. Or GPS co-ordinates would do!

I think it would be on the West (Walking St) side from JT's directions.

[Jingthing]

So let me get it straight. According to your map we head towards Jomtien...and not turn left at the intersection. And it's on the East side of the 2nd road. Will it have a big sign?

"Punjabi Tadka Indian Restaurant"

lite up with neon...or is it just a sign on the front of the building. The info will help if someone (me) is riding along on a motorbike. Or GPS co-ordinates would do!

I think it would be on the West (Walking St) side from JT's directions.

Correctomundo.

[Ulysses G.]

I will try anything Jingthing recommends other than gay sex.

[Jingthing]

I will try anything Jingthing recommends other than gay sex.

Hey, if you're blindfolded, you might not tell the difference (or it may be better).

No, this isn't an offer!

In any case, the restaurant does have a large lit up ORANGE sign sticking out onto the street, so it should be fairly easy to locate.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Jingthing

[William Osborne]

Amazing how many people cannot understand a basic map with some simple directions

Will give it a go when i have to time... don't care what anyone says, but Thai's can't make curry worth a sh*t

[sohn]

Just ask a local Thai for directions. :cheesy::cheesy:

[Jingthing]

Just ask a local Thai for directions. :cheesy::cheesy:

That is funny. Asking a Thai for directions to an Indian restaurant would be amusing.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Jingthing

[Pdaz]

Any idea of their opening times Jingy ? Don't mean exactlt to the hour.. but are the open lunchtime or just in da evening ? Be great id it's as good as you say cos the Madras Durbar which I have been using since it opened has ramped up their prices since realising they were one of the few places doing decent Southern Indian tucker.. They too started off with dishes from 80 -120 baht... But not any more

[Jingthing]

Any idea of their opening times Jingy ? Don't mean exactlt to the hour.. but are the open lunchtime or just in da evening ? Be great id it's as good as you say cos the Madras Durbar which I have been using since it opened has ramped up their prices since realising they were one of the few places doing decent Southern Indian tucker.. They too started off with dishes from 80 -120 baht... But not any more

I haven't noticed if they are open for lunch yet, sorry, don't know. But, why not? Yeah, that seems common in town, open with lower prices and then raise them. The last time I was at Madras the dosa I had was a totally greasy mess, so that put me off that place anyway.

BTW, if anyone goes to Punjabi Tadka and doesn't like the food which I reckon is inevitable as everyone has different taste --

Edited August 11, 2010 by Jingthing

[BSJ]

Amazing how many people cannot understand a basic map with some simple directions

Will give it a go when i have to time... don't care what anyone says, but Thai's can't make curry worth a sh*t

Well I am sorry, but I do have trouble navigating around town....any town! Give me a map and a compass and out in the bush I am fine.

Thanks for the extra info Jingthing....an orange building on the West side of the street with no orange illuminated sign....and if I see Kohinoor eatery I have gone too far.

[whatchamacallit]

Out of curiosity we decided to check this place out last night - we arrived at 7:15 and decided to sit in the small Air Conditioned room all the way in the back. The two of us and another farang couple were the only diners at this time - but then the sky opened up and buckets and buckets of water came down from the sky.

The ambiance: Not fancy, but comfortable.

The Price: Very reasonable

The Food: it is okay for the price. We ordered an assortment of deep fried veggies in batter, Butter Chicken, Mutton Rogan Josh, Garlick Naan, Butter Roti, and Safron Rice which never came. The Butter Chicken was good a bit on the salty side. The Mutton Rogan Josh - the sauce was good, but the mutton was cut into too big a chunk and a bit chewy - it would have been easier to eat had it been cut into bite size chunk. The garlick naan was excellent and the butter roti just okay. No comment on the Safron Rice as it never came. Total bill for the two of us including drinks (1 lg Chang, 1 sm singha, 1 water): 550 baht. When the bill came they forgot to charge me for the Rogan Josh (150 baht) - I brought this to their attention and they corrected the bill.

Being new, they still have a few bumps to smooth over. All in all a good value for your money. Having said that, for a little bit more money you should check out NAWAB in Pratamnak Hills - better ambiance, better food, and easy parking.

[PattayaParent]

NAWAB is my favourite too.

[Jingthing]

Oh no, now the curried shit hits the fan. I knew it was coming.

Some caveats --

I never said the ambiance was great, I don't think it's bad though. To me ambiance counts for almost nothing. FLAVOR and price are the big things for me. It is true like many restaurants some things on the menu are better than others. I agree the cuts of mutton they serve aren't great; on the other hand their curry is delicious and their mutton curries are in the 150 baht range rather than the typical 250-400 baht range in other places. I didn't love their pakora (fried veg appetizer) but thought their mutton with minced mutton samosa meat was outstanding. Their breads are outstanding. Their chicken dishes so far for me have been outstanding. Their flavoring has been rich, strong, spicy, and bold, which is my preference. Also don't forget many of us don't run vehicles so Pratunmak hill eateries are practical, but I believe you that place is good. I don't think tasty Indian food should be a luxury item. As Indian food lovers know it is not a one dish cuisine, you need a number of dishes to make a good balanced Indian meal. Cheers.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Jingthing

[Pdaz]

It's very hard to reccomend restos.. Unless you know the person's taste very well.. I know for sure what I enjoy is very different to some of my mates.. I realy like to see meat on the bone and whole fish/prawns.. Heads, feet and bone all mean flavour.. I like a tender steak but will forego some of that tenderness for a great beefy flavour.. That's why I prefer top sirloin to Filet..

For food other than western (UK/Aus/Kiwi?USA etc) I prefer it to be as authentic and rustic as posible.. I don't want it modified to suit what they figure is 'western taste' If I try it and I don't like it I won't bother with it.. I don't want it 'modded'.. Having worked extensively in India, Malaysia and Singapore I know what a decent Indian meal should taste like. The average street side resto doesn't use high end boneless cuts of meat.. They use mutton, forequarter beef and chicken that runs about in the yard (Gai Bahn) It suits the long slow cooking process and contributes great flavour.

So for me I don't want decor, meat without bones, fish without heads I just want a flavoursome, authentic meal.... At a reasonable price.. I'm sure you have said it before Jing, there is no reason for an Indian meal here to be any more expensive that a Thai meal in a similar style of resto.. There are thousands of Indians living in Thailand and all the spices and dry good are available cheaply..

The only reason Indian food served to farangs is pricey is because the business owners want to keep their meal at the same pricing level as places selling Italian, English and other 'Farang' food..

Pretending to make curries with high end filet steak and 'tender' imported NZ lamb is nonsense when in reality local mutton, beef and chicken is all millions of Indians use elsewhere in Asia.. Believe me a goat or mutton curry if prepared well is far superior to one made with lamb ( I mean lamb, not hogget as that can be tasty too)

Have yet to try the place Jing but might head down there tonight as my missus likes a curry but pulls a face when the bill comes... ''Aharn aroi dtair Khun Khaek kee gong mak'' is her usual comment

[Jingthing]

Yeah, dives rule! As long as the food is good, and often they have the best food.

Yes I have had better Indian food at other places in the world, also mostly at dives, but this is Pattaya where it can be a challenge to find good Indian food for a good price. I won't spend 1000 baht per person for an Indian meal anywhere except maybe a really fancy hotel in Bangkok. Better value for that 1000 baht meal with other cuisines in town.

The big black hole in Pattaya food though still is CHINESE food. It really sucks here overall.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Jingthing

[Pdaz]

Went down the Punjabi Tadka last night.. I walked down from Pattaya Tai as couldn't park my car any closer. Place was easy to find and the staff were friendly. We sat out front cos I like to watch them cooking and I find being tucked away in an aircon box a bit sterile and boring. Menu was simple and the easy double sided card is much better than leafing thru some oversized 'bible' IMHO..

So to ordering.. We both had a sweet lassi while we waited.. excellent flavor. I watched the cook make the filling' for the mutton samosas then stuff the dough and fry it .. How's that for fresh?

Samosa's were double the size of the usual portion.. Great flavour and excellent value for 60 baht. Next came mutton biryanni, chicken Madras, channa daal and a couple of tandoori roti.

Well first off the portion size was huge so didn't need so many dishes.. I'm used to smaller portions which is good cos you can have more variety.. Two people isn't really enough for a good feed when portions are this big.. (never thought I'd complain about generous portions) Right, what about the food (my taste only) biryanni had plenty of mutton and had a good flavour..Looked like they had used thai rice rather than indian to economise I guess.. The consistancy was very different to the Malaysian Indian biryannis I'm used to but was faithful to the Northern Indian ones I've had before.. Much moister than the Malaysian variety and without the bright colours and deep friend onions.. Chicken Madras was rich and spicy.. So much so my girlfriend was now sweating and muttering 'Phet' to herself .. The Channa masala was exceptionally thick in true Northern style.. again a huge portion more suitable for four than two.. Tandoori roti were made before our eyes and had that great tandoor cooked taste. We both came away stuffed to the gills.. with a big Chang (60baht) and two lassis the bill was 630 baht... Considering the huge portions I thought it was great value.. The food would have easily fed 4 people with a couple more rotis thrown in.. Like Jingthing said it ain't fancy.. Dishes came without any embellisment, no swirl of yoghurt or corriander leaves.. Just plain steel pots.. But that is exactly as I expect.. Overall considring the price and the flavour this place is easily better than many other Indians in Pattaya.. I'll be certain to return and try some other dishes... They only have Northern food which is heavier and heartier than the Southern style so expect a filling meal. A good find Jingthing.. Don't know if it will appeal to all but guess it depends on what you want from an Indian resto.. If their prices don't creap upwards I think they will be onto a winner.. Plenty of Indians easting there last nite.. Hopefully that is their target market and not us Farangs.. That way the quality and value should continue..

For Chinese style food I used to go the sharkfin place at the Northern end of 3rd rd.. It was a Mom and Pop type place with only 4-5 tables.. Small menu but great super fresh Teo Chew style dishes.. Sadly it moved when the buiding was redeveloped.. Would love to know where they went as the food was good in a home cooked Chines kinda way.

Edited August 14, 2010 by Pdaz

[Jingthing]

Thanks for the feedback ...

You are so right that their curries are very rich (fattening really) and pretty much the opposite of diet food. Not really placing a value judgment on that, good or bad, but its something to keep in mind. Probably either eat there less often or better yet balance the meal more (fewer curries) with other lower fat things like tandoor meats, chaat, etc.

Also, you are correct, the portions are indeed above average which makes the low prices reflect even better value. Glad you appreciated the mutton somosas. Yes they are quite large but of course good tasting is the important part. I actually found those somosas charming, they were clearly hand shaped and arrived with some odd shapes kind of like your Indian grandma made them (that's a good thing). Also, there was a small flaw, one part of one of them was dripping grease. Simple just to avoid the part and appreciate that the food there has SOUL.

One thing I wonder about. I know Brits have their own curry style but I think it is generally heavily influenced by North Indian. I am sure this place isn't interested in doing British style curries specifically but I am curious how Brits in general feel about their food, in relation to their different palates (preference for British style curries).

Edited August 14, 2010 by Jingthing

[Pdaz]

Although I grew up in the US I'm a Brit and have spent alot of time eating curry in the UK.. Dunno about the North of the UK but down South I think the Indian food has gotten worse rathr than better.

In the past Indian restos were small 'shophouse' affairs with the family living upstairs.. They provided 'home cooked' style tasty Indian food with very little modification.. They were happy to sell to the small niche of people who liked curry.. Best of all it was cheap when compared to other more established cuisine.. At some point they tried to broarden their market by making the food more appealing (supposedly) to the non-curry liking public.. They improved the decor, added a wine list, made milder less spicy dishes available and put the prices up... Hey presto you now have loads of 'high end' noveau Indian places.. Fancy lights, fancier menus and tasteless fusion type food... Yuk! I'm sure there are still Mom and Pop places around but they are thin on the ground in the 'better' suburbs Heading into the more ethnic parts of London you can get great Indian food but as you say the mainstream is mostly North Indian food prepared by Pakistanis and Nepalese.

I'm sure someone will mention the Indian food availble in the North of UK.. I can 't comment never having been there.. I have had Indian food in Scotland on a few occaisions and once again I was disapointed.. I can only say that maybe I have been spoilt.. Once you have eaten Indian food in HK, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.. Many of the dishes in UK seem over fussy, bland and over embellished with sweet ingriendients like cream, coconut and butter.. If however you want a really bad curry try Australia.. Perth specifically.. a kilo of meat in a tastless stew is their idea.

Like I said before I like simple homestyle authenticand tasty food .. I don't want it jazzed up... I can go do French or Italian for that.. 20 yrs in Asia has taught me you will seldom find tastier food than market or steet vendor fare.. The hotels may use the 'best' ingriedients but they are only a pale imitation of the original..

Hopefully more places like this will appear..

[Ulysses G.]

Once you have eaten Indian food in HK, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.. Many of the dishes in UK seem over fussy, bland and over embellished with sweet ingriendients like cream, coconut and butter..

I like the Indian food in the other countries that you have mentioned, but the jazzed up versions in the UK also sound darn good to me. I'm pretty sure that I would like both.

[JimmyTheMook]

Will try soon maybe tomorrow , is this place past Soi VC then heading towards Jomtien ?

or before it ?

Trying to get a better idea of the location before setting off looking for it.

Any other landmarks to look for ?

[Jimmyd]

We tried this place yesterday. We arrived at 11:45--the restaurant seemed closed so we asked the lady in the window (the cook) if they were open (in Thai). She said come back in 15 minutes in English. We did, arriving about noon or five after. There was one customer. The cook pointed inside so we went in and sat down. And waited.

About 5 minutes later, she came in looking a bit flustered and said something which included the words '5 minutes'. So we waited 5 minutes. And 10 minutes. And 15 minutes. During this time some more customers showed up and were served some fried bread looking thing and what looked like yogurt. I told my partner "12:30, and we leave."

At almost exactly 12:30, a guy comes in and puts a bottle of water in front of us. Later he brings some glasses. We took this as progress and waited a bit more. When he came to take our order, I first ordered the Chicken Madras that had been mentioned earlier in this thread. The waiter said "We don't have that, we're serving breakfast now." I put down the menu and said, "Well, what do you recommend then?"

He mentioned something I couldn't quite understand and said it was basically the thing we had seen the other guys eat. I made sure to mention to him that we both like spicy food and garlic, and he seemed to understand that, so I told him to go ahead and make us what he had mentioned.

The food came perhaps 10 minutes later. It was a fried bread with a small bowl of yogurt. Inside the fried bread were spices, including garlic, chili and ginger. It was delicious. A second basket of the bread arrived eventually, and we scarfed that down as well, both of us quite full by the time we finished every little morsel. I got the feeling they had added more garlic and chili because we had ordered it.

When the waiter came back, I made him point the bread thing we had out on the menu--it was Alou Prantha. Out the door it was 145 baht--I'm not sure the breakdown was, but on the menu the Alou Prantha was 35 baht, I believe. They may have charged more because of the extra spices, or perhaps they charged us for two yogurt sauces--60 baht for a small yogurt seems steep for this place (the water was 15 baht). I'm not complaining--he showed me the bill but I didn't check it at all and the price was more than reasonable.

Overall verdict--a wonderful experience, we'll both be back, both for breakfast and we are both eager to try their dinner fare. The waiter (I believe he's the owner too, and his wife is the cook) says they start cooking the rest of the menu at 2 pm. I'm guessing the wife's English and Thai are so weak, she waited for her husband to come back to take our order, hence the delay. Kind of cute actually.

A couple final notes--when we were leaving, I noticed one of the other tables had some pickled vegetables and onion salad. That would have been great with the Alou Prantha--I'll be sure to get it next time if I go there for breakfast. Also note that the Alou Prantha is rather greasy--the yogurt really helps to cool it off and cut the greasiness.

Thanks for the tip, Jingthing.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Jimmyd

[Thakkar]

Once you have eaten Indian food in HK, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.. Many of the dishes in UK seem over fussy, bland and over embellished with sweet ingriendients like cream, coconut and butter..

I like the Indian food in the other countries that you have mentioned, but the jazzed up versions in the UK also sound darn good to me. I'm pretty sure that I would like both.

Yeah, 'jazzed up' food can be tasty too. Like Chinese food in parts of Mumbai—completely unauthentic, but tasty. As long as it's tasty, that's fine by me. It's only disappointing if you go there actually expecting and looking forward to authentic.

[Thakkar]

Thanks for this JT, wish I'd heard about this place earlier though. We were in Pattaya last month. It'll just have to wait till our next trip.

I agree on Madras Darbar. It was disappointing, though it adequately scratched an itch I'd been having for a while.

There's really no reason for Indian restaurants to be much more expensive than equivalent Thai places, so it's a bit of a scam really. Let's hope Panjabi Tadka is a success and breaks the existing mould for Indian restaurant pricing.

Nice name too. 'Tadka' means sunshine.

[Ulysses G.]

There's really no reason for Indian restaurants to be much more expensive than equivalent Thai places, so it's a bit of a scam really.

I love your posts!