JOIN USFor years now, Bangalore’s answer to the street-food culture in other cities has been Thindi Bheedi, the corridor of stalls at Sajjan Rao Circle that come alive at dusk and dish out all manner of street delicacies.
But now, citizens don’t have to travel to VV Puram to indulge in the ritual of crowding around a cart, extravagantly sampling relatively-unheard of varieties of dosas and steamed corn. In fact, smaller versions of the street have begun to mushroom in different parts of the City.
As a rule, they thrive around office complexes and tech-parks, where the business for street-food is best — since professionals rarely have the time for sit-down meals and leisurely tea breaks, meals that are quick to prepare, easily accessible and filling at the same time are the perfect option for them.
Salom, who spends his evenings frequenting different office complexes and setting up his momo cart there, explains that there’s never any dearth of business outside offices after 6 pm. “That is when people start to leave their workplaces and they often stop for a snack. I don’t stick to one place — sometimes, I take my cart to Mori Gate on Sarjapur Road. Otherwise, I go to Bellandur. It depends on the competition — if there are
too many carts outside a particular office, business dips,” he explains.
Some entrepreneurs have taken this a step further, by setting up mini-restaurants that are modelled around street-food menus and offer the bonus of quick service.
As long as they are close enough to office complexes, they are invariably brimming with customers during lunch hours and in the evening. These sorts of food corners have sprung up in areas like Bellandur, Indiranagar and even Doddanekkundi.
Shiju Krishnan, proprietor of ‘Nest Restaurant’, in Bellandur, says, “We base our business on the convenience of professionals. Thanks to their schedule, they require food that is served quickly. Besides, since most of them come during lunch time, they look for light meals — nothing too heavy.”
Other areas where these food corners are springing up are neighbourhoods which have a large community of young professionals — say in the 20 to 25 age bracket — who depend heavily on street food for their meals.
For instance, 80 Ft Road in Koramangala is dotted with food carts, proclaiming to sell
99 different varieties of dosa, heavily modified Chinese fare and even tandoori items. Indiranagar has its fair share of food stalls as well, especially around 12th Main — as does Whitefield, which has the benefit of being equidistant to both office complexes and residential areas.
“Given the length of our shifts, not many of us choose to cook dinner after work hours. These food stalls present a great alternative.
Although there is a notion that street food is unhygienic, this isn’t always the case —
it comes down to being a little careful and observing your surroundings better.
Personally, I love having a hot dosa after a long day at work. And since it’s freshly prepared in front of me, the hygiene issue doesn’t present a problem,” says Shalini, a
resident of Koramangala.
Of course, not all office-heavy localities allow food corners to thrive around them. For instance, Naveen, who works on Bannerghatta Road, says, “There isn’t
much space around my workplace, which is why there aren’t many street-food carts around it. However, a lot of my friends who work on Outer Ring Road frequent these carts. They have quick service and are quite popular.”