The typical veg menu offered by most Mumbai restaurants assumes a vegetarian to be either of these stereotypes: a street food lover who can't get enough of pav bhaji; a paneer fanatic who'll have it in all its achari, kali miri, ajwaini and kadhai glory; a "continental" fare fan who digs cheese; or one who craves to eat chicken but can't, so will settle for soya ki chaap or a mushroom overload in anything. For the rest, thankfully, there's the thali — a home-style platter of food, which though can be overwhelming with its countless katoris, celebrates unsung veggies like gourds, beans and brinjal, even if it needs a little padding from aaloo and farsaan.

But restaurants serving thalis in the city usually price their offering between R350 and R800. So, when we hear of Manuhaar, a recently launched Sahara Star property that serves a blend of dishes from Gujarat and the Marwar region of Rajasthan on a thali, we decide to drop by to check if it's worth R1,711. The cost is certainly not an inhibiting factor, considering the reservations were full the previous night for a Saturday afternoon slot, and walking in keeps us waiting for over 30 minutes.