The Ramzan food street in Koramangala.
Credit: DH PHOTO
Bengaluru: With Fraser Town's famed Mosque Road dug up for repairs, Bengaluru foodies have found new Ramzan food destinations this year: Koramangala 5th Block and Tilaknagar.
The food streets near Jyoti Nivas College and in Tilaknagar are drawing thousands of gastronomes daily.
The destinations join Bengaluru's traditional Ramzan food hubs like Shivajinagar, KR Market, and Johnson Market.
This year, Fraser Town lacks its usual festive vibes. While one side of Mosque Road is entirely dug up for a white-topping project, MM Road is marred by potholes, stagnant water and open drains. Local residents also oppose noisy food festivals. As a result, the area's usual Ramzan buzz is missing.
Koramangala and Tilaknagar are stepping in to fill the void, with many new stalls popping up this year.
"We opened this year because of the huge crowd. Sales are really high and we plan to expand in the upcoming years. We sell almost 2,000 plates and make a profit of around Rs 50,000 per day," said a staff member at House of Kabadia. "The Koramangala crowd is really good. It's a commercial area and the purchasing power of the people is good here unlike other places where they are very choosy."
While Mohabbat ka Sherbet remains a popular Ramzan beverage, Empire Restaurant's new drink called Malabar Ice Crush is also selling briskly.
A staffer said that the sherbet sales in Koramangala were higher than in Fraser Town this year.
Ayesha Khan and Rahul Menon, two local visitors, lamented that the closure timings had been reduced to 1 am unlike last year where the food street stayed open until 4 am. The police patrolling is really strict this year, they added.
Farhan Sheikh, a college student, said the hygiene and food quality in Koramangala were better than in Shivajinagar and Fraser Town.
However, Rakesh, a food enthusiast who visited the Fraser Town food mela for the last 10 years, disagreed. "The food in Fraser Town is more authentic. Hygiene and food quality are really bad in Koramangala," he said.
Besides traditional dishes like kebab, phaal and patthar gosht, there are new offerings like Afghani Chicken and Crispy Chicken.
For dessert lovers, there are Shahi Tukda, Banana Almond Malai, and Shahtoot Malai, a mulberry sweet.
In Tilaknagar, a diverse market has come up, selling everything from food items to footwear, clothes, and jewellery.
Azeemullah Shareef, a staffer at Moghul Durbar, stated: "The crowd here begins to grow from 9 pm. Since markets in Koramangala have a strict closing time of 1 am, more customers are attracted here at night as shops stay open till 5 am."
SK Shahabuddin, from Shahi Zayeqa, said sales were up 30% as daily footfall was 50,000 to one lakh.
Because of the costing, area and rent, the Koramangala food price is much higher than Tilaknagar. "I sell one plate here for 180, but in Koramangala it is sold for Rs 350-Rs 400," stated Azhar, who runs stalls in both places.
Hemanth, who visited both Koramangala and Tilaknagar, stated: "The atmosphere in Tilaknagar is really good. The food quality is same as other places and hygiene is debatable. But the crowd management is much better in Koramangala as it is more disciplined there. Here, there is no such crowd or traffic management. Vehicles are allowed inside the market making the place congested."