There was a time when 5-star hotels were not known for their food. They were thought to have pretentious, bland Indian food catering to the expat crowd. The first of the 5-star hotels which I always heard of having great food was ITC Hotels. Their restaurants are legendary with Bukhara in Delhi leading it. Their pub, Dublin, is also a pretty popular watering hole, if I may call it that.
A few years ago, me and my friends decided to have a fancy dinner together and we chose Dakshin. We laughed about having chosen a South Indian thali instead of a la carte and how our parents would scorn on the amount spent for something which is so normal in any South Indian restaurant. So a few days ago when we wanted to try a different 5-star and cuisine, Dakshin was a no-brainer. Because one bite of Dakshin's food and you don't mind any of the scorns from your parents or the price! Although 70% of the thali is regular South Indian meals dishes, it's the other 30% which tantalizes your taste buds. The food tastes like it's been prepared with love and utmost respect to the traditional recipes. Additionally, the relaxed environment of Dakshin helps you enjoy your meal much better than a regular restaurant and that perhaps is what you are paying for as well.
The restaurant is elegant with a South Indian feel with an urli welcoming you and the servers are in South Indian clothing of mundus, cotton shirts and sandals. The room slowly fills with the aromas of the dosa and appams being made fresh in front of you. The menu is designed like the beautiful wooden doors of the yesteryears.
Dakshin serves South Indian food from the four major south Indian states - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. They serve simple, home dishes like kaalu saaru (thin gravy of pulses from Karnataka), vatha kuzhambu (onion curry from Tamil Nadu) and Malabar chicken curry (from Kerala). Their Hyderabadi fare is also very popular with their pappus and chutneys.
We got our favourite order of the thali which was what bowled us over all those years ago. It's also a good representative of all four states.
As appetizers, we were served soft mini adais, well seasoned paniyarams and my favourite, banana paniyarams! They remind me of the ghee modaks we make at home. Made flat like a dosa and rich in banana, ghee and jaggery, they just melt in your mouth. I could eat it all day and not be tired of it. Just make sure you don't calorie count. These are served with a garlic-mango pickle, fresh coconut-green chilli chutney, spicy ginger chutney and a tamarind chutney with peanut and mustard tempering. It goes without saying that all were well-prepared and tasty and the best part is these are unlimited.
We were also served soup in the form of rasam. Though this is not the popular way of having rasam, you will be happy just having the rasam with no interruptions from rice. It was piping hot and had well balanced flavours of tangy, peppery and spicy. You will be sweating while having it because of the heat and spice levels but you just can't stop. It tastes home-made and is perfect.
It's hard to remind yourself that there is a whole thali waiting for you while you eat the delicious starters and that it is as scrumptious as the starters. The vegetarian thali comes with the day's special of 2 dry curries, pappu, avial, vatha kuzhambu and sambhar representing all regions well. The non-vegetarian thali comes with a chicken curry and pan-fried fish with same vegetarian curries. If you are a seafood fan, choose their generous seafood thali which serves crab, prawns and fried fish. My friend who had the seafood thali exclaimed he has never seen such big prawns being served. We also couldn't stop eating the pan-fried fish. It was a flaky, soft, fresh fish fillet perfectly spiced with red chilli powder, turmeric and salt, gently pan fried and served.
The curries are eaten with appams (which comes with thick, delicious, sweet coconut milk), Kerala parotas amd rice. But before you move to rice, do not miss their pulaos especially the chicken pulao. Perfectly moist chicken pieces cooked brilliantly with fluffy rice and a mix of whole spices like cardamom, cloves, jeera and bay leaves. There is an equally delicious version of the vegetarian pulao. The sweet provided is usually a dry sweet like boondi laddu or kajas. End the meal with the spiced South Indian style paan which also helps in digesting all the amazing food.
I recommend eating lunch at Dakshin. The sheer amount of food and deliciousness which fills you in the end is best enjoyed with an afternoon seista! So next time you want an excuse to celebrate but also want to have a normal thali, go to Dakshin!
Location: Begumpet
Timings: 12.30PM to 3PM and 7.30PM to 12AM.
Cost for 2: Rs.3000
Taste: 8/10 - half of the points go to the banana paniyarams!
Service: 9/10 - attentive and helpful staff
Ambience: 8/10
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