Situated
at CyberHub, Gurgaon, Made in Punjab comes across as a restaurant that lingers
between old world charm and modern chic in terms of ambience. The tables are
big and accommodating and so are the chairs. We got to sit on one those
revolving glass top tables, something that was a novelty when we were growing
up and this did bring back some fond restaurant visit memories.
The first thing that struck me about the place was the menu and that it stays true to the name by being limited but with enough choices for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. In this day and age when most restaurants try and please everyone, it’s refreshing to see that Made in Punjab sticks to what it knows best.
The food is typical Punjabi done so with a twist which gives the option of a few added dishes that stand out, at least on paper. Paneer Lababdar becomes Paneer Tikka Lababdar with the added smokey taste of the tikka which in turn flavours the dish differently. Similarly it was my first time having a Tadka Raita and Kababriz (pictured above) which are small dough ball type Naan bread-rolls filled with cheese and garlic. They might seem insufficient on arrival but trust me, they fill you up fast.
The quantity of the food served was also good as was the service which proved to be neither intrusive nor lacking anything. Now, while the quality of the food was good, the biggest issue that I had, along with my family, was that everything proved to be spicy, very spicy, by our standards. We did, as common practice, request for less spicy food when ordering and were duly told that the food was spicy but we still didn't expect the hotness levels to be this high. Add to that the creaminess, which adds flavor no doubt, but also makes the food heavy, left us somewhat bloated and disappointed. I believe keeping true to authentic Punjabi food the spice levels are kept high, and which is fair on part of the chef and the restaurant, but also as a paying customer I think if Made in Punjab were to have readily available non-spicy options it would certainly prove much more favourable.
Personally, I don't see myself returning to the restaurant, but the non-vegetarian food at this point of time has not been sampled, and some might rightly say that without considering non-vegetarian food the review is incomplete; although I would disagree with that to some extent. Still, if you do like a certain zing to your food and are okay with it being on the heavier side, then by all means give the place a try. PS: Unfortunately dining out with family means unable to take photographs of the food, because there just wasn't enough time.
