When a restaurant leaves such an impression that diners can’t stop thinking about it long after they’ve flown home, you know it’s doing something right.
That’s exactly what happened to one New York food lover, whose heartfelt email to London’s Empire Empire has captured attention online after being shared on social media.
Asma Eljack, who visited the Punjabi restaurant during a trip to London, was so taken by the experience that she reached out to the team with an unusual request: would they ever consider opening a branch in New York City?
In her email, she explained just how memorable the visit had been.
“My name is Asma, I visited Empire Empire this past winter, and it changed my life,” she wrote. “Some of the best dishes I’ve ever had.”
Despite living in one of the world’s greatest food capitals, Asma admitted she had been unable to find anything comparable since returning home. She said:
“I’m now back in NYC, where I live, and am desperate to find anything that even comes close. We have some great Indian restaurants here but Empire Empire haunts me.”
She ended her message by asking whether the restaurant had any plans to expand across the Atlantic, adding: “If not, please consider it, and if so, let me be the first to try!”
The restaurant’s reply was just as warm.
Thanking Asma Eljack for her “kind words”, the team said they were “absolutely delighted with the compliments” and acknowledged that New York would be an exciting prospect.
Despite the glowing review they explained that: “As an independent business, opening a location in the city would only be possible with the support of a local partner.”
The email concluded with an invitation for Asma Eljack to visit again the next time she is in London, with the team saying they would “love to take care of you again.”
The video has reached 2.2 million views on Tik Tok after Asma posted it to her account @choopedjunior.
The exchange has resonated with viewers because it captures something every traveller hopes to experience: discovering a restaurant so memorable that it becomes part of the journey itself.
