The taste of tradition

As you sip the delicious ‘badam’ milk at Asha Sweet Center, you realise why the place is so popular among the people of the City. The pleasant taste of the drink and the delectable crunchy ‘badam’ and ‘kesar’ linger in your mouth. It is something that you will not forget for years to come.

One the oldest spots in the City, Asha Sweet Center is one of the leading sweet places and is known for its delicious sweets and snacks.

The place was started by the Late Kantha Prasadji Garg, who travelled extensively across India and came to the City. He set up the sweet stall in Malleswaram in 1951 with the help of Srinivas Murthy, his mentor. In 1971, his son Narendra Kumar Garg joined the family business and renamed it as Asha Sweet Center.

By 1980, the place was already sought-after by foodies, and there has been no looking back since then. Mayur Garg, son of Narendra Kumar who is a business management graduate, has already entered the business and is actively involved in escalating Asha Sweet Center to greater heights.  Asha Sweet Center has a wide range of Indian sweets, Bengali sweets, milk ‘khova’ sweets, dry fruit sweets, savouries, snacks and sugar-free sweets. It even serves mouth-watering North Indian sweets.

 “We have always adhered to the principles and use only the purest ingredients to give the customers the best taste and flavour. We have good chefs who cater to each community and its needs. We always try to innovate and bring excitement, especially during the festive seasons, with new items. And we have always believed in keeping our prices reasonable,” says Narendra

Some of the celebrities who have enjoyed a bite here are the Late Dr Rajkumar, Late Vishnuvardhan, Late Shankar Nag, Anant Nag, Shivarajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar among others. Narendra, the owner, reminisces that Dr Rajkumar’s favourite sweet was ‘ladoo’! “Every year on his birthday, he would order sweets from our shop. He always had a huge craving for sweets and loved all our sweets, especially the ‘ladoos’. He was a close associate of mine.”

Today, the sweet shop has opened several branches in and around the City. Apart from sweets, it also offers freshly-baked cakes, pastries and ‘chaats’. It has become a landmark in Malleswaram and the residents of the locality have some wonderful memories of the store.

Vinayak, a senior citizen, recalls, “Forty years ago, when I used to come here as a college student, there were only a limited number of sweets. Today, there is a lot more variety and one can get a taste of the different sweets from across the country, which is amazing.”