A PG's food is the single biggest thing that determines whether a student stays for one semester or four years. Here's how we vet mess kitchens.

**We show up unannounced.** Every listing on HostelNest gets an unscheduled kitchen visit within 30 days of onboarding. If they can't handle a walk-in, they can't handle your Sunday breakfast.

**We taste at least four meals across two weeks.** Every kitchen has a good day. Every kitchen also has a bad Wednesday. We stay long enough to see both.

**We insist on three things** RO drinking water at every table. Refrigerated storage that's actually cold. Cooking oil replaced weekly.

**The one question that tells you everything** Ask the cook: 'What did we have for dinner last Monday?' A good kitchen has a rotating menu and the cook knows it. A struggling kitchen has 'whatever we could get'.

**Signs a kitchen is thriving** Fresh curry leaves in a jar. Clean ceiling. A whiteboard with today's menu. Residents on first-name terms with the mess staff.