At Xin Coonoor and Xin Ooty we serve a menu we do not — and cannot — serve in Bangalore: our Hills-Only Beef range. Slow-cooked beef pho, Malaysian rendang, Thai massaman curry and a chilli-black-pepper Nilgiri beef bowl that has quietly become the most-ordered dish at our hill outposts. Here is why the hills are the only place we do this, and why you should plan a weekend around it.
Why hills-only?
Two reasons — one legal, one culinary. In Karnataka, beef availability is restricted. In Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, the local farms have been raising humped Nilgiri cattle for generations, and the meat is available legally and traceably. So when we opened in Coonoor and Ooty, we made a decision: we would only serve beef where we could source it responsibly, from farms we knew by name.
The second reason is texture. Nilgiri beef, raised on hill grass at 6,000 feet, has more collagen than Delta beef. That means it responds beautifully to slow, patient cooking — the kind that turns a pho stock silky, a rendang glossy, a massaman spoon-tender. Serving this beef anywhere else feels like a compromise.
The Hills-Only menu
Beef Pho (Coonoor + Ooty)
Twelve-hour stock. Charred ginger, star anise, cinnamon. Rice noodles cooked to order. Thin slices of Nilgiri beef, added raw and cooked by the broth at the table. Fresh Thai basil, mint, spring onion, lime, chilli. Two versions — a classic Hanoi-style and a spicier Saigon version with red chilli oil.
Beef Rendang (Coonoor + Ooty)
The Malaysian classic — beef cooked in coconut milk and spice paste until the liquid reduces to a dark, glossy coating. Served with jasmine rice and a small side of cucumber salad. Rich, deep, complex — the kind of dish that gets better the next day.
Beef Massaman (Coonoor + Ooty)
The one Thai curry with clear Persian roots — cardamom, cinnamon, potatoes, roasted peanuts. Our version uses Nilgiri cinnamon and a house-roasted peanut butter. Mild by Thai standards, complex by any standard. Best with warm garlic naan (yes, we do that here).
Chilli Black-Pepper Beef Bowl (Coonoor + Ooty)
Cantonese-inspired. Beef strips flash-wokked with Sichuan pepper, black pepper, dry red chilli and spring onion, served on a bed of stir-fried greens. The house special — direct, unfussy, and the reason our regulars drive from Ooty to Coonoor on Fridays.
Planning a weekend around this
Coonoor is our smaller, quieter outlet — head there for the pho on a rainy afternoon. Ooty is livelier, better for dinner. Both are within 20 minutes of the Nilgiri toy train stops. Consider a Saturday lunch in Coonoor and a Sunday dinner in Ooty — different rooms, same soul.
One more thing
Every Hills-Only bowl comes with a card that asks a question about the Nilgiris — hills you love, plants you notice, dishes you miss. Your answer feeds our Canvas. Sometimes, that answer becomes the next dish on the menu.
