Bengalureans who love going on a food trail

BENGALURU: Take Ragesh Radhakrishnan's case. A self-confessed foodie, Radhakrishnan is that guy who plans his daily commute to office around eateries he wants to try out. "I live in Whitefield and my office is in Yemlur. People generally go via Marathahalli because it's shorter, but I travel via Hoodi because, Marathahalli doesn't have any eateries. In Hoodi, I recently discovered a new eatery that's called Shri Chowdeshwari Mudde Oota. I get there by 11am, have my meal and then head to work," says Radhakrishnan. "For most people who travel, food is a part of the journey. For me, food is the destination," he says. So, when he visits his hometown, Tellichery, in Kannur, Kerala, Radhakrishnan plans his trip in such a way that he can "reach Mysore by 7.30am to have the Mylari Dosa for breakfast, and reach Tellicherry by 1pm right in time to have lunch at this restaurant called Kanal." What makes his journeys even more enjoyable is the fact that Radhakrishan has another equally passionate foodie-traveller Ananda Kumar joining him in his culinary explorations. Together, they have gone to places near and far. From Tamil Nadu and Kerala to Gujarat, Leh-Ladakh, Bhutan, Malaysia and Australia, the two friends have seen and tasted quite a bit of the world.

"Last year, I made a solo trip to Sri Lanka and I was intent on eating in this restaurant called Ministry of Crab. I wanted to try their crab made in the traditional Sri Lankan way, and the cricket buff in me wanted to eat there because the restaurant is owned by two former Sri Lankan players (Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara)," says Kumar. Making reservations however wasn't too easy. "I had to make repeated calls months before the trip to get a table. When I couldn't get through them over phone, I sent them mails. I eventually managed to get a reservation there on the day I arrived in Colombo- December 25 and I had to make do with a booking for 11.30am because they didn't have any other slots available," he recalls. Of course, the experience of trying the food, albeit the expense, was worth it all.

FOOD RIDES

Kripal Amanna is the founder of the Biker Gourmet Club. As the name says, these are a group of biker foodies, who travel around, looking for the best places for local specialties. They've ridden to places as diverse as Mulbagal, Sakleshpura, Kochi and Mahabaleshwar, looking for local specialties. "Our experience in Yercaud was wonderful after we reached Hotel Selvam, an old local eatery, which served some amazing biryani. It was worth the ride," recalls rider Joseph Cherian.

RESEARCH

If you were to ask them, people who travel for food will say that it is diligence, persistence and one-track focus for seeking out the best food experience is what separates them from other travellers. Joy Basu, former management consultant and current owner of Cafe of Joy, is currently on an extended trip across South America, with her husband Prithvi Shergill. While the plan to visit the continent had been on their mind for quite some time, the couple decided to postpone it because "We hadn't got reservations at Central Restaurant in Peru, Lima the first time we'd made our plans," chortles Basu. Owned by chef Virgilio, the restaurant is ranked among the World's Top 50 Restaurants and is known for food that celebrated the biodiversity of Peru. Food enthusiasts through and through, Basu and Shergill say that there's a lot of research and planning that goes into every trip they make, whether in India or outside. "I have been travelling since I was five years old but travelling for food has been my interest in the last 20 years," says Basu who starts reading about a city's food scene three months before the travel date. "I'll go look at food reviews, blogs, look up Trip Advisor, check out the Top 50 restaurant list and will route the itinerary around food," she says. In their current trip, the couple have tried exotic food including Piranha at restaurant Central, Escarmoles (a Mexican insect caviar dish) and Bandeja Paisa, which is a local Colombian meal.

The trick in discovering new food while travelling, these food nomads will tell you is 'about eating what the locals eat'. So while Basu and her husband found themselves standing in a long queue a couple of days back with natives in Bogota to taste the Colombian doughnut rolls- "we figured that if the line is long, then what was being served must be good," notes Basu; Kumar and Radhakrishnan on their trip to Bhutan got their cabbie to take them to a place where he ate regularly. "He took us to this small house/eatery run by this aunty and that experience was out of the world. The rice was flavoursome and the food was made the way the locals eat it, and not like something modified to suit foreigner's palate," says Kumar. "Eat what the locals eat. That's the best way to live, breathe and assimilate the place. Else, what's the point of visiting it?" wonders Radhakrishnan.

PULAO, PRASADAM AND OTHER EATS

A communications manager, Pratvii Ponappa's mornings on some days start as early as 3am because he goes hunting for small eateries that make idlis. And that hunt of his has seen him driving in and around Bengaluru and to places like Bidadi, Mysuru and Mathikere. He now has plans to visit Kancheepuram because "a friend told me that there are two or three families there who make Kancheepuram idlis, and they are apparently the last families to make it a particular way." Besides idlis, Ponappa's love for authentic traditional food has him hitting small shacks and eateries. Those that are not listed on Google and food websites. He doesn't mind travelling the distance or waiting early mornings for the eateries to open. "I once landed at Hanumanthu Hotel, Mysuru before 5am, even before they'd opened for the day, just because I wanted to try their pulao. Because I was their first customer, I got to see the kitchen and how the dish was made," says Ponappa. His hobby, he says, has helped him establish relationships with small eatery owners. "I have their numbers and on days I feel like eating their food, I just have to call them and they keep the food aside for me. I don't mind driving the distance," he says. Temple food is another thing that gets Ponappa behind the wheels. "When I'm visiting a temple with my family, I plan it in such a way that we reach in time for lunch that's served in these temples. Food served here is vegetarian but what I like about temple food is the fact that it's made using local ingredients." Sringeri, Dharmasthala, Mrityunjaya Temple in Coorg and Melukote Sri Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple, according to Ponappa, serve very good prasadam.