I do not know if this is something to do with the coming new year but have noticed that many popular websites have either gone in for a makeover or added some eye candy for users. Popoular ones include Wall Street Journal (website redesign), Gmail (themes for the mailbox), Yahoo ( website redesign, second time in the last one year). The list is big but these are the ones that come to my mind now.
This post is being made from wordpress 2.7 which comes with a completely new layout. I like it.
The Haleem at Hotel Shah Ghouse takes the top honours for this year. This time my inquiries about any new and good places serving haleem in the old city had only one answer—Hotel Shah Ghouse. Not to ignore my friends advice who already tasted the haleem (more of an instruction) we, a group of four headed to Hotel Shah Ghouse. We did have a tough time wading through the traffic to reach Hotel Shah Ghouse. The hotel is situated on the road from Charminar to Barkas. One can find the hotel (around 250 metres from Pista House’s main outlet) on the right hand side of the road from Charminar to Barkas.
We placed our order as soon as we reached Hotel Shah Ghouse. The first thing I noticed after getting the haleem was that it was very hot. This was the perfect serving of haleem I had so far this year. Spicy, Piping hot, tasty, the right consistency, the right quantity of ghee and spices used, and a taste that was the best. Anything hot and spicy and Hyderabadi’s love it. The haleem is worth the price at Rs. 55 per plate.
After devouring the haleem at Hotel Shah Ghouse we headed to the main outlet of Pista House to get a plate of vegetarian haleem. Unfortunately, the vegetarain variety was over by the time we reached Pista House. Not to be dissappointed we ordered a plate of the regular haleem that was served with loads of ghee in it. The taste was almost the same as that of the parcel we ordered from its outlet in Babu Khan Mall.
A cup of chai in a Irani cafe near Charminar ended the trip for us.
Recommendation: Must have. Do not miss it.
Updated Post: 25 September, 2008
Come the month of Ramzaan and the whole of Hyderabad is busy gorging on the favourite dish in this month—Haleem. But it is only people who eat meat who enjoy the delicacy. For people who do not eat meat they hardly have any alternative. But that was until a few years ago when Pista House started offering the vegetarian variety also. As far as I am informed it is the only place where you get Vegetarian Haleem.
My intial plan was to taste haleem (the regular non-veg variety) at the most popular places in Hyderabad. Then vegetarian haleem was not even on my agenda. However, my curiosity about what goes into a vegetarian haleem and how it tastes got the better of me and I decided to taste vegetarian haleem also this year. And yesterday was my chance to try it out.
We (Akhil, Prasanthi, Ram and I) went to the Old City to try out the haleem at Hotel Shah Ghouse, the surprise package of this year. My plan was to taste the haleem at Hotel Shah Ghouse and then proceed to Pista House’s main outlet near charminar to try vegetarian haleem. It was around 8 p.m by the time we reached the place. Unfortunately for us the vegetarian haleem was over by that time. Dejected, we ordered a plate of the regular haleem and started digging into it. The taste was almost similar to the one we had from its outlet in Babu Khan Mall, Somajiguda, the only difference being the amount of ghee served at the main outlet. We literally scooped out a few spoons of the ghee before we finished off the plate.
Hy-Line is small restaurant located in King Koti. As part of my plan to visit all the good haleem joints in Hyderabad, I along with Akhil had been to the restaurant a few days ago to taste the haleem.
The haleem was not tasty, very light (Lot of ghee being the culprit according to Akhil) and the quantity served was less compared to the other places I visited. For me it scored poorly in terms of taste, value for money and the experience. With the regular haleem priced at Rs. 60, I feel it is not worth it.
Next on my list will be Hotel Shah Ghouse near Pista House in Charminar and Café Bahar in Hyderguda. I have got very good reviews from my colleagues about the taste of haleem being better than that of Pista House. That will be another trip to the Old City.
Recommendation: Not worth it.
This year all my visits to the restaurants in Hyderabad for haleem have been unexpected and planned at the last moment. It was Shadab this time. I was supposed to be at home by 9:00 p.m today. However, a last minute change in the schedule led me to Nampally and another last minute decision to Hotel Shadab. Situated near the High Court and Charminar, Hotel Shadab is famous for its biryani, chai and yes the haleem too.
The haleem at Shadab was the best in terms of taste even beating Sarvi. It was hot, spicy, thick and filling. All this for Rs. 60, a good value for money. It could be the setting of the Old City also that added to the experience.
For me, Shadab tops the list of the must visit places for haleem in Hyderabad.
Recommendation: Must try. Better to go the place after 7:30 p.m.
Aala Santhosh Reddy 