My God, what a lovely restaurant! My only regret was not taking photos, so words will have to do.

First, the samosas. Wow. Those fat packets of flavour are made with crispy dough and fluffy potatoes and peas. They’re made to order too, so they come fresh, but still have oil on them – no eating on your lap! They come with a cool, sticky-sweet tamarind sauce, which sharpens the flavours of the samosa with every bite dipped into it. Best of all, they come at the STEAL price of $1.25/samosa.

Second, the sweets. My favourate is their gulab jamuns – those soft spongy balls of deep fried dough soaked in sweet sugar syrup laced with cardamom and saffron. Buyer be aware: they have never left the store (because I devour them before I can open the door).

Their ladoos (those bright yellow balls) felt sandy on my tongue, so I didn’t like them. Nor did I enjoy their mango lassi. They prepared it beautifully, with drops of orange staining the inside of the cup before being filled with the yellow yogurt liquid. But it tasted odd. First, you taste the thin creaminess of the yogurt, then, an odd flavour of salty and sour covers your palate, and then, only as an aftertaste, does the taste of mango seep through. Perhaps this is authentic Punjabi lassi; I only know that I didn’t enjoy it.

Lastly, and most importantly, was the bountiful meal I ate for dinner. 3 of us ordered 1 butter chicken, 1 bengin bharta, 2 naans, and 1 rice. What they gave us would’ve served 4. They generously gave us four separate naan pieces, unlike Dawett. The naans were both soft and charred at exactly the right ratio, just like a wood fired pizza from Napoli. The puffy basmati rice was piled high on their platter, overflowing and perfectly cooked. The bhengin bharta, a dish native to Punjab, was a spicy and heartwarming mix of soft vegetables with warm spices – if you want to try something new, try their bhengin bharta. But the best dish of all was their butter chicken. That oasis of orange flavour was PERFECT! It was buttery, slightly sweet, and had that tangy flick that only restaurants seem to provide. The chicken was soft and juicy, like concentrated packets of butter chicken flavour. It is faithful to the cream-based curries of northern India.

Kelowna’s New Punjab is a treasure trove of splendid Indian cuisine, and Rutland is spoiled to have an Indian Restaurant so close by. Thank you so much for the amazing cooking! I’ll be back in no time.