Sher-e-Punjab

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hanno
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Sher-e-Punjab

Post by hanno »

Name: Sher-e-Punjab
Address: #16Eo Street 130, Phnom Penh
Telephone: 023 216 360, 092 992 901
Opening hours: 10:00 - 23:00
Cuisine: Indian
URL: http://sherepunjabindianfood.com/sher-e-punjab.html
Reservation: http://sherepunjabindianfood.com/reserve.html
Menu URL: http://www.yourphnompenh.com/order/food/sher-e-punjab/
Rating: 3

The Sher-e-Punjab has been my go-to Indian on my visits. I usually stay on #108 street and thus this restaurant is just around the corner and the food was always pretty decent in the past.

It was thus with anticipation that I headed there last Sunday. I was greeted as I arrived and chose to sit outside. This turned out to be a bad choice as there is a motorbike repair shop next door and I was treated to a lot of revving of engines, banging of tools and exhaust fumes. Obviously not the restaurants fault but annoying nevertheless.

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Prices are OK.

When I arrived, I was the only guest and as such the menu came quickly enough, along with some snacks. It looked like some sort of "namak para", which I like, but these were swimming in oil and soggy where they should have been crunchy.

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Oily and soggy.

Anyway, I ended up ordering Mutton Pakora as a starter and Chicken Pahari Kebab (chicken marinated in cashew nut paste, yogurt, and spices and cooked in the Tandoori oven). Along with this a garlic Naan and a mango Lassi.

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The Pakora was tasteless and of a very bizarre consistency.

The Mutton Pakora came quickly and it came out hot, which is probably the best I can say about it. The meat had obviously been marinated for too long, leaving a strange taste and consistency. It was soft enough, but in a mushy sort of way. Any taste of spices was very hard to detect and I thought the dish was terribly bland.

The main course took 20 minutes to arrive, which is OK, but the Lassi also took as long, which was not OK. The Lassi was good, with plenty of mangoes, but it was piss-warm, which was less good. The chicken had the same problem as the mutton: it had been marinated for too long and again the meat was of a questionable consistency. The only thing that saved it was the gravy that came along with it; it masked the fact that the chicken itself was pretty tasteless.

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The chicken was also not very good. Again lacked any real taste.

The only item that was really good was the Naan; cooked just the way I like it (a little crispy) and with just the right amount of garlic.

The bill would have been reasonable if the food had been somewhat better and I do hope that they get their shit together again. The staff could also use some training. Friendly enough but the chicken came on a spitting hot iron plate and she passed right next to me; getting me splattered.

The last negative note was that there were no towels of any kind in the bathroom. I eat like an Indian, i.e. with my hands and surely putting a towel cannot be too expensive?

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The Naan was good though.
Last edited by hanno on Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by Brewer »

Obviously it's only possible to pass part-judgement on any food from photos but the nan does look appealing but not perfect for me.

I also like mine with some crunch on the top, in fact I like crunch and some decent charring. That gives soft bread from for gravy mopping and chunk scooping, some stiffer bits for shovelling and that wonderful bittersweet of the charred bits to add flavour.

I've never eaten mutton pakora in over forty years of consuming Indian food. I don't even remember ever seeing it on a menu, in fact. The only observation I would make is it looks really ineptly coated. Pakora should be a nice golden colour - and the colour looks pretty good - of gram flour batter but should be a much more uniform coating. It looks like the batter mix was too thin and whoever dipped and dropped them wasn't very clued up on technique.

Again, the chicken has that charring that appeals and it's a pity it wasn't up to much.

Incidentally, what's your favoured SR Indian. My go-to was the Maharaja down opposite the Terrasse Des Elephants when I was there. I don't remember even having a bad item in there, let alone a bad dish.

The Indian opposite the Provincial Hospital was also consistently top notch but I got miffed with them when they handed me a bill for more than twice what it should have been with a number of items I hadn't ordered. I'd have been more understanding had I not been the only customer in there!
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hanno
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by hanno »

In Temple Town my favorite Indian is Dakshin's followed by The Indian. Maharaja used to be pretty good 10-15 years ago but are just not quite up to the same standard since they moved.
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by cptrelentless »

A decent Indian in this country is a rare thing. There's a billion of you, surely some of you can move here and cook decent food.
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hanno
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by hanno »

cptrelentless wrote:A decent Indian in this country is a rare thing. There's a billion of you, surely some of you can move here and cook decent food.
Even more Chinese and I have yet to discover a really good Chinese restaurant.
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frank lee bent
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by frank lee bent »

why are the portions so small in every Indian resto outside of UK?
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hanno
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by hanno »

frank lee bent wrote:why are the portions so small in every Indian resto outside of UK?
I think the photos are misleading there; it was more than enough food for one person. Or maybe the Brits eat a lot more?
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peter.storm
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by peter.storm »

I eat there 3 or 4 times a week, great food!!!
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by KickingWithRedLabel »

I have eaten at a number of Indian places in town and have found Sher-e-Punjab to have the best food. Eat in or carry out there at least once a week.
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hanno
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Re: Sher-e-Punjab

Post by hanno »

Well, maybe the Chef had his day off. As mentioned, I used to have pretty good meals there but this one was just not good.
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