New Punjab Club in Hong Kong is now the world’s first Pakistani restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. Besides that, the owner Syed Asim Hussain has become the youngest restaurateur in the world to hold two Michelin stars.
New Punjab Club is part of the Hong Kong-based Black Sheep restaurants. The restaurant is famous for its tender kebabs, lentil dumplings, and sticky toffee pudding.
Pakistani restaurateur Syed Asim Hussain started the authentic Punjabi eatery just 18 months ago.
“For New Punjab Club to be recognised after just 18 months and for a cuisine which is traditional Punjabi is an amazing achievement and honour for the team.”
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Personal Achievement
Being awarded for authentic Punjabi cuisine just added to the flavor for this 33-year-old Pakistani.
“However, to be acknowledged for something that is so personal to oneself, one that lifts just not the cuisine but also the community, could not make one more proud of this achievement.”
When the 33-year-old restaurateur started New Punjab Club, he brought in Palash Mitra, the chef from the one Michelin star eatery Gymkhana in London. Palash Mitra created the New Punjab Club menu, centered around two smoky tandoor ovens.
The menu features Amritsari Machli, Masalewali Chanp, Lahori Seekh, Gudda Nihari, Murgh Pulao, and Gosht Salan.
Even more exciting is that Asim Hussain retrieved and restored the restaurant’s two tandoor ovens himself. He actually started off working in a restaurant and now he owns the Hong Kong-based Black Sheep chain of restaurants.
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New Punjab Club even houses the ‘biggest restaurant collection of conventional Pakistani art‘. The artwork of the restaurant is also personal to Hussain and serves to tell the story of the restaurant to the guests every night.
Michelin Stars
Michelin stars are a rating system devised by the red Michelin Guide. The rating system is used to rank restaurants based on their quality.
Prior to New Punjab Club another one of Asim Hussain’s eateries had already been awarded a Michelin star.
His Black Sheep restaurants were awarded a Michelin star for its neo-Parisian restaurant ‘Belon’. This makes Asim Hussain the youngest restaurateur in the world to hold two stars.