Hyderabad House - Scarborough find for regional South Asian cuisine in Toronto
After a long search for good Hyderabad food (a cuisine similar to North Indian 'Mughlai' cuisine but with specific regional dishes and variations from the famous courtly culture of South India, the Muslim princely state of Hyderabad), we finally hit lucky. We found mention of a take-out/catering place, Hyderabad House, at Unit 10, 4820 Sheppard East; Scarborough; through its website which was advertised on the Canadian Desi site which caters to Canadian South Asians.
http://www.hydhouse.com/default.html
We looked at the menu - lo and behold, there were a number of dishes I had last eaten in Hyderabad, India - such as bagare baigan (an eggplant dish), mirchi ka salan (peppers), and chaknaa (delicious offal stew), tala hua ghosht (stir-fried meat) - as well as more popular dishes such as chicken dum biryani, korma etc. Like all Muslim cuisines of South Asia, it had many more meat-based dishes.
Hardly believing it, we dialled the number provided - 416-289-7011 - the helpful gentleman who answered in very good English, suggested we send him an email since we wanted to pre-order a number of dishes for two days later when we were running errands in that area.
We did so, got a confirmation email in reply and picked up our food today at Scarborough - amazingly good food. Everything was freshly cooked, delicious, and authentic. The sauces were superb and distinctive for each and every dish, the rice in the biryani just as it should be with each grain separate, the meats tender and succulent, the eggplant soft and yielding on the inside, the prices very very low (it came to $27.65 for 5 dishes).
A couple of caveats - more oil than would be the case than if one cooked at home, but certainly not more than other South Asian restaurants; the spice level I would call medium, so if you cannot eat spicy food,I would desist. Also, although there are three bar-stools to sit and wait, you cannot eat there, there is just no space. I would recommend calling beforehand. They open 11.30 am to 11 pm.
But if you enjoy good South Asian food, and/or if like us, you have been seeking regional cuisines of South Asia, do sample Hyderabad House. We are already trying to find excuses to make another trip to Scarborough.
