Guru Sweet MartMysuru (Sayyaji Rao Road)
Mysore pak
Run by descendants of the palace cook credited with the sweet. The counter version is loose, porous and heavy with ghee, and it does not keep more than a few days, which is the point.
Old Mysore · Deccan Inland Plateau
Shops and premises
Mavalli Tiffin Rooms (MTR)Bengaluru (Lalbagh Road)since 1924
Rava idli, masala dosa, the fixed-price meal
The rava idli is said to have been devised here during a wartime rice shortage. The building still runs a two-sitting lunch and a queue on the pavement.
Vidyarthi BhavanBengaluru (Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi)since 1943
Masala dosa
Founded to feed students, hence the name. The dosa comes to the table folded and already buttered, and the order is not customisable.
Central Tiffin Room (Shri Sagar)Bengaluru (Malleshwaram)
Benne masala dosa
A small room with a long pavement queue; the butter is applied twice, on the tawa and on the plate.
Brahmin's Coffee BarBengaluru (Shankarapuram)
Idli, vada and a chutney it will not describe
Sells four things, closes when the batter runs out, and has never printed a menu. The chutney recipe is the house's only trade secret and is not for sale.
Devaraja MarketMysuru
Flowers, bananas, spices, sandalwood oil and rasabale in season
A late-nineteenth-century covered market still working as a wholesale and retail floor, and the best place to see how many banana varieties the region actually grows.
KSIC Silk Factory showroomMysuru
Mysore silk sarees direct from the mill
Each saree carries a hologram and a code, because the name has been counterfeited for decades. The factory runs tours of the weaving floor.
Cauvery Handicrafts EmporiumBengaluru and Mysuru
Rosewood inlay, sandalwood carving, Channapatna toys, Ganjifa
The state emporium, and the only reliable place to buy sandalwood with the paperwork that makes it legal to carry.
Famous shops, markets and workshops in Old Mysore, and what each is known for. (8)