HEALTH HAZARD?: A roadside eatery in the city. — Photo: P. V. Sivakumar

HYDERABAD: The way the Hyderabadi bit into the succulent pieces of chicken or mutton in his biryani is changing. It had to.

With filth being pulled out from under flashy tablecloths and shining food platters in ordinary restaurants as well as plush, popular hotels in the city, eating out options for the commoner suddenly seem to have narrowed down.

Eateries

Where is safe food available now is the question. If Alpha, Bawarchi and a handful of other eateries that were frequented by the Hyderabadi for his regular biryani or even a normal breakfast or lunch have been pulled up by the authorities for not maintaining standards in hygiene, where next?

The roadside bandis? Cheap and tasty is their tagline. No shimmering glow signs and not for the fork n' spoon kind. A piping hot dosa comes for a mere Rs.8. A plate of three idlis comes for Rs.5 while a plate of three pooris is priced just Rs.7. Upma is Rs.6 and a cup of tea Rs.2. The prices are peanuts compared to those charged even at the tiffin centre one finds mushrooming in every lane.

"It is not just that the food here is cheap. I can see for myself that he is not serving stale food," says Harikrishna, an auto-driver whose daily breakfast is from the bandi run by Gowrishankar in front of the Secunderabad Railway Station in the mornings.

The ambience is quite different from, say, Bawarchi. You have to keep one hand free to swat away the flies and ignore the scrawny dog that keeps staring longingly at your plate. You also have to ignore the brownish water in which the two boy-waiters wash the plates.

"It is difficult to get clean water all the time when you are operating on the roadside. Yet, we try to maintain some cleanliness and ensure that customers do not have to eat from dirty plates," says Gowrishankar, whose menu changes from South Indian to Chinese in the evening.

In short, if you are a stickler for a hygienic ambience, scram is the word. Where to? The ubiquitous tiffin centre? Wait and watch.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail