The launch of New Punjab Club's new a la carte menu has coincided with the renewal of its Michelin star. Chef Palash Mitra offers insights into how he's led the team to sustained excellence.
I can’t believe I haven’t once dined at New Punjab Club until its seventh year in Hong Kong (except for that one takeaway during the pandemic era, which was no less remarkable, by the way), and a taste of its brand new a la carte menu quickly showed me what I’d been missing.
With added flair to otherwise unpretentious recipes, New Punjab Club’s tightly curated selection of dishes not only showcases the breadth and boldness of Punjabi cuisine, it also demonstrates the team’s constant drive for perfection and innovation, fuelled by genuine, abiding passion. It’s no wonder that this tandoor grillhouse in Central is the first and only Punjabi restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star, and has managed to retain the award for the sixth year running. So, how did New Punjab Club come to create a game of its own – and keep winning at it? I sat down with Chef Palash Mitra, Culinary Director of New Punjab Club, to explore his outlook on prestige, recognition, and the future.
Chef Palash Mitra shares the secrets to New Punjab Club’s Michelin success
Congratulations to you and your team for retaining the Michelin star for the sixth year running! How do you maintain such high standards in your kitchen?
I think the most important mindset we hold onto is that we never retain a star – we gain it. We never bask in its halo. Besides, I believe delivering consistent quality is crucial. After all, being able to ensure every dish that leaves the kitchen meets the highest standards is what’s earned us the Michelin star in the first place.
Next, it’s the attention to detail. From the sourcing of the ingredients to the cleanliness of the cutlery, to the temperature and plating of the final product, to our one-liners when we introduce a dish to our guests, we make sure they’re like muscle memory, so that we’re always able to deliver our best, regardless of how busy we are.
Continuous improvement is also vital to us. We take the feedback from our customers and critics very seriously. And this leads to the significance of training, too, because it’s one thing for me to envision and execute my recipes, but it’s more important that the team upholds the same when I’m not around.
What does receiving a Michelin star mean to you? Has its significance changed over the years?
So much has happened over the past six years, but the Michelin star has remained my North Star and my guiding light. It’s an incredible accolade and a testament to our culinary mastery. So, it’s always been one of the most prized achievements we have as a team (and I have, personally, as a chef). And I think the importance hasn’t dwindled one bit. In fact, things become more difficult as I get more “manic” about it – finding inspiration, making certain sacrifices, staying together as a team, and ensuring we’re consistently excellent, all the time. That being said, the star has brought us even more love and recognition from our patrons and friends, and I’m grateful for all the support that’s allowed us to shine.
Covid-19 put a huge strain on the F&B industry. How did New Punjab Club manage to stay afloat and resilient during and after the pandemic?
Our strategy has always been to stay on our toes and take every day as it comes. Covid indeed brought along many situations we’d never imagined would happen, but we adapted to the environment and pushed through. Even with the changing restrictions, we stayed true to what we do – to cook robust Punjabi cuisine. But thankfully, even during that period, the community largely stuck to us. After the pandemic, I continue to see the locals returning to our restaurant. Whether by ordering take-outs from us back then, or joining us for lunch and dinner nowadays, their support has been invaluable – and this is what keeps us going.
Having worked at and travelled to so many countries around the world, what makes Hong Kong special to you, especially in regards to its F&B industry?
Hong Kong is just so very dynamic, isn’t it? And this dynamicity comes from the vibrant multiculturalism. The dining scene is known for its diversity, offering a wide range of options from traditional Cantonese cuisine to international fusion. Plus, the food culture is deeply integrated into the fabric of Hong Kong; it’s ingrained in the local lifestyle, making the city truly a food lovers’ paradise. Moreover, chefs have access to a lot of high-quality produce here – it’s unparalleled, in fact, even when compared to the US, the UK, India, and other South Asian countries where I worked. In Hong Kong, we can get the best morels, truffles, caviar… Even the best local yellow chicken and seafood can be obtained at a reasonable price. These are some of the most unique traits of the dining scene here.
In addition to your roots and family, where do you find inspiration for new recipes for New Punjab Club?
Chefs make up a worldwide community. Our ecosystem thrives on the fact that one chef’s work can be the inspiration for others. I was very inspired by our collaborations last year with talented chefs like Chef Mariano Ramon from Gran Dabbang in Buenos Aires; Chef Chintan Pandya from Dhamaka in New York; and Chef Garima Arora from Restaurant Gaa in Bangkok. I enjoy picking up new techniques and being able to gain insight into how other chefs think.
Delving into the history and traditions of Punjabi cuisine stimulates me as well. The more I know about the cooking techniques and the origins of the dishes, the more I want to learn.
Travelling also inspires me a lot. The different cultures, flavours, and textures I experience during my journeys become part of me; they contribute to my repertoire of ingredients and add extra dimensions to my dishes.
On the topic of ingredients, seasonal produce is a huge source of inspiration for me, too. I like working with seasonal ingredients, not only because it’s cheaper, but they’re also tastier, meaning I only need to do relatively little to bring out their maximum flavour.
The last thing would probably be personal experiences. As cliche as it sounds, they really do matter. Many chefs (like myself) began to develop themselves in their mother’s or grandmother’s kitchen – that’s where the seeds were sown. A dish can be a homage to our roots, as it comes from a place of genuine history.
How do you ensure your creations are authentically Punjabi while catering to Hong Kongers’ palates?
Punjabi cuisine has actually been on the underbelly of Hong Kong for a long, long time. During the World Wars, many Punjabis and Sikhs were brought into Hong Kong by the British to work in public service (such as constructing railways and infrastructure), and they brought their culture with them. So, there’s always been a legacy of Punjabi cuisine locally. But what New Punjab Club does is we bring it into the spotlight, which no other restaurant has done. It’s also about the true essence of Punjabi cuisine and what it means to us. Because we’re so passionate about it, we actually didn’t adjust our offerings too much to fit the local taste. There’s no compromise in the flavour and quality, nor in the traditional use of ingredients, seasoning, and techniques.
We knew we wouldn’t be able to please everybody, but fortunately, New Punjab Club really took off. In hindsight, I believe we made the right decision, because now we’ve become one of the destinations where people come looking to experience something different.
Where do you see New Punjab Club and Hong Kong’s F&B scene in a year’s time (or five)?
For us, we focus on one day at a time, even though we’re foresighted and have big plans for the day after. What’s happened over the past several years has taught us that while it’s good to feel positive about the future, it’s also important to live in the moment. We simply try to give 110% to our guests every day, because we’re grounded to the fact that our work today is going to take us to a better tomorrow. Things are looking much better than even just six months ago, and hopefully it keeps going this way. We’ve always been optimistic about the F&B industry in Hong Kong; if we weren’t, we wouldn’t be here!
So, what are some ingredients that you are choosing to use this time? What dishes are you most excited for us to try in your 2024 Spring menu?
This time of the year in Punjab, the aubergines are really good, and so are the ladyfingers, radishes, corn, lentils, fish, prawns, pumpkins, and strawberries. We have something called the Dal “Laddu” coming onto the menu – it’s basically the vadi chaat, which are crispy lentil fritters that are sun-dried and then refried. This is served with piquant tomato chutney. We’ll also be featuring a lot of radishes in our refined recipes, using purple radishes from Belgium, local moolis, and daikons from Japan for a dash of luxury.
Moreover, we’re making Bade Ka Boti Kebab, a tandoori rib eye with pumpkin chutney. This is a recipe that tugs at my heartstrings, because my grandmother used to make simply fantastic pumpkin braise. Using diced Japanese kabocha pumpkins, the chutney puts the soul into the smoky, juicy, 12-ounce rib eye steak. It’s an amazingly succulent dish and I can’t wait for you to try it (plus the rest of the menu)!
New Punjab Club, 34 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong, p. 2368 1223
