Of all the incongruous restaurant names in Shenzhen, this one ranks somewhere near the top.

The name "Dewan-e-Khass" (or"Hall of Special Audience") evokes the image of a palatial building in 16th-century Muslim-ruled India, where the emperor would receive envoys and other honored guests. The Dewan-e-Khass Pakistani restaurant in Futian District is far less grand in comparison, located as it is in one of Shenzhen's oldest- and most decrepit-areas.

So as you take in the surroundings, enter the restaurant and observe the fairly average decor, you might be tempted to ask yourself: "So what exactly is so khass (special) about this place?"

The answer is revealed after your order arrives. It would be too easy to call Dewan-e-Khass the best Pakistani restaurant in Shenzhen- being the only one of its kind in the city makes it both the best and the worst by default- but I'm going to make a rather bold assertion here: Dewan-e-Khass is one of the best Indian restaurants in the city.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. Given that India and Pakistan were once part of the same country, it?ˉs not surprising their cultures and cuisines are similar. And during my time in Shenzhen, I have come across at least half-a-dozen Indian restaurants, most distinguishable only by degrees of mediocrity, and none of which I have been able to recommend wholeheartedly.

Dewan-e-Khass, however, is different; since my visit there last week, I have been urging people to go, not unlike what I?ˉm doing now.

Owned and run by a Hong Kong-based Pakistani named Nadeem Iqbal, Dewan-e-Khass serves the kind of food that you are most likely to find in any Punjabi/northern Indian restaurant, with a bit of exclusively Pakistani fare thrown in.

And the best part is, it's all dirt cheap, too. Just to compare: A naan (flatbread made of white flour) at most Indian restaurants is priced at anywhere between 15 yuan (US$2.14) and 20 yuan, diabolically expensive if you ask me, given how cheap it is to make and how many are consumed by diners during a meal. At Dewan-e-Khass, a naan costs just 4 yuan, and a chapati 3 yuan. If you were seeking properly priced South Asian food, here?ˉs where you?ˉll find it.

However, if there's anything that beats the great prices, it's the seriously tasty food served up by Dewan-e-Khass. We tried the keema naan (12 yuan), which, instead of containing mincemeat as the name suggests, has small chunks of lamb. Not that we were complaining though; the lamb chunks provided a truly meaty taste to what is normally boring bread, enough for it to be consumed as a dish on its own.

Also meriting praise was the seekh kabab (15 yuan), made of minced meat with spices and grilled on skewers in a tandoor. Given that there was just the two of us, we were restricted in our choice of main courses and eventually ordered the chicken achar masala (28 yuan), a crossover dish cooked in mustard oil and spices used to make typical north Indian pickle.

Accompanying all these was cucumber raita (10 yuan), a South Asian condiment based on yogurt and seasoned with cilantro, cumin, mint and other herbs. Of all this, perhaps the only item that I was a bit critical of was the chicken, which was just a touch overcooked. Everything else was pretty much perfect.

The restaurant, which opened in October, is very vegetarian-friendly too, providing such popular favorites as palak paneer (cottage cheese in spinach sauce, 25 yuan) and baingan bharta (20 yuan), a spicy Indian eggplant curry dish. Beer is also served here, a welcome change from other Muslim restaurants in the city.

For those who like Indian, er, South Asian food, Dewan-e-Khass is not to be missed, providing as it does some of the best subcontinental food in Shenzhen; enough, hopefully to make the more established Indian restaurants take notice. And yes, that is what is so"khass"about Dewan-e-Khass.

(Shenzhen Daily April 15, 2008)