Punjabi Haweli Brisbane

It's the new kid on the block (as per this review), right in Stone's Corner. This little area is growing with great places to eat, and this could well be another - all I know is that the food is good. One night, after some arrangments had made the day a little bit on the hectic side, my big sister had quickly arranged an order to be delivered to the home base. It was all set in motion in a matter of minutes and before too long there was a ring at the door.

Not much is able to be said about two aspects from my perspective - the service and the design of the restaurant - since, 1) it was delivered and no-one had stepped foot in to Punjabi Haveli, and 2) my housemate cum dining buddy answered the door, so however the deliveryman was like - just ask him. Nevertheless, the speed of delivery was fairly decent getting there more or less on time, so that is one plus to give for the service.

More or less, the expected menu is right here. There are the usual starters, breads, rice sides and accompaniments. When it comes to the curries, they take a slightly different approach to most of the competitors. Coming after the entrees, it is the vegetarian ones that are shown before the meat-based ones; additionally, the spread of vegetarian curries is beneficial to those who don't eat meat. The range includes plenty of daals, paneer cheese, mixed vegetables, potatoes and kofta balls. If it were those curries alone here, the choice would still be pretty good.

The meat selection is a bit more of the bare basics, with the vindaloo, madras et al available. Even if they are less usual, there is still the general goat curry, bhuna and mushroom-based dish. In addition, they also have seafood curries that are a selection of some classic dishes choice of either prawn or fish. Thus, the spread of options is mostly what would be expected.

So in getting onto the foods, the delivery order consisted of two curries, a biriyani and some naan on the side. For the curries, it was a couple of classics - butter chicken (which should not go as wrong as it does each time, which so far is never - had it so much and it always impresses) and a lamb madras (which is a good curry that is inbetween rogan josh and vindaloo regarding how spicy it is, and a tad smokier than both).

Both of those curries were good, with thick gravies that were infused well with plenty of spices that made them taste distinct. The amount of meat was also generous, and were in large chunks; the chicken used was first cooked in the tandoor giving it the distinct smokey aroma, and they used thigh meat. It was creamy and always a classic. Then coming to the lamb madras, the meat used was just as good quality and it was a similar consistency albeit spicier. Both of them were solid dishes, the serving size was generous (the containers were essentially full) and well, they were tasty.

When we are talking about a beef biryani, this time around it has huge chunks of beef mixed throughout it. Immediately, this gives it more of a ranking in my books - the chunks of beef were cuts of steak, and they were all delicious. Mixed through it was a raita, and a good marsala that gave it less of a spicy taste and more of a smoky flavour. I generally haven't gotten biriyanis from Indian places much, but now I am much more tempted.

When delivered, the flat bread can vary a bit. Often, whether naan, roti or whatever, without doubt the best way to have it is fresh from the tandoor (oven, wok or whatnot). Sometimes I have been underwhelmed with the presentation of it upon delivery, well not here. Maybe a bit on the small side, there was still enough of it to have the great buttery film over it, and it could be pulled apart easily with hands. The garlic taste was strong on it, and bits of garlic were actually falling off - this reminds me why I always weasle in getting one on the side.

What this amounts to is another place around the suburbs that does a decent Indian takeaway. That is it more or less. There is better around this part of the world, but it still is a reliable option amount many reliable options. One thing I will say before finishing this review off is that I am really starting to like this whole delivery service for food.

The Punjabi Haweli is nice but no different that any other place that has Indian fare. It is a little disappointing that there isn't a choice of meat, as everything is chicken. Some of the sauces seem very similar with only subtle differences. We ordered medium heat, which was really nice, but I would hate to see what hot is!

Great curry, good friendly service. Really picked up lately. Best curry in the area. Naan was amazing. Butter chicken was heavenly. Clean and fresh. Ignore previous reviews.