Hotel Shanbagh

Many a foodie's heart was broken when the Shanbhag at Punjagutta X-roads was torn down. But happily enough, it relocated a stone's throw away from its old site and so it remains the ultimate destination for a cheap yet effective plate of masala-dosa.

Ask the man at the counter what he recommends, and you'll get a vague 'idly-vada' for an answer. Don't take that at face-value; after all, it's difficult to list just one or two best-sellers when most everything on your short but sensible menu-card is popular with most everyone. People even love the Chinese food here, with veg manchuria and soft noodles being the best-loved.

North-Indian grub like the navratan kurma and the paneer butter masala are also popular with the guests. But it's really the 'tiffins' from down South that are the soul of the place. Masala dosa with a glass of sweet lime juice makes for the perfect breakfast, but for a more substantial lunch try the tomato or bissi belle baath. Dahi-vada, sprinkled with lots of boondi, is a good idea for an evening bite. But for dinner, you must get the thali.

The thalis here are basic. For Rs. 25 you will get a plate of puri, rice, sambar, rasam and subzi (dry vegetable curry). If you decide to live it up and go AC, you get a much more elaborate meal (for Rs. 71), with pulao, pappad and the works. They also serve Bengali sweets like rasmalai and rasgulla, plus basundi, gulab jamun and the ubiquitous casatta ice-cream.

Shanbhag has been around for thirteen years in all, and the branch in Basheerbagh is quite a large one. The restaurants are noisy, have quick service and waiters who possess the uncanny ability of knowing exactly when you've had your last bite so they can plonk down a plate of saunf with your bill. The message is clear - there are other people waiting. You can't blame them, when it comes to complete value for money, very few places can beat Shanbhag.