Did you know that when the star nears the moon it’s a sign for the hunger demons to be unleashed? Well, yes that time of the year is here when foodies descend upon the streets of Bengaluru to feast on the scrumptious and lip-smacking food. You can head towards JNC road, Johnson Market, Shivajinagar, Tilak Nagar and of course the good old Mosque road. We visited Mosque Road to give you the feel of this year’s Iftar food treats.
When it comes to food anything is possible, be it crossing the ocean or in this case even a hoard of traffic to get to the one place that serves few of the best, most juicy and delicious kebabs. This 9th grade young food lover, Shreya dragged her parents all the way from JP Nagar to Mosque road only to satisfy her palette she says, “I’ve been coming here since past 6 years now, and every time this place manages to surprise me with something new to offer. From Kebabs to rolls and Haleem every dish competes with each other and this sometimes confuses me, but I am lucky to have supportive parents, Haha..”
Asad Shacoor
While Shreya took time out to speak to us, her younger sister, a budding food lover Yashaswini managed to swipe off the savoury on the plate she says, “I don’t want to share food with my sister because it is yummy. I come here with my sister every year because I like the food. My mom cooks nice chicken but it isn’t as tasty and these kebabs and my favourite dish is the malai chicken.”
While on the other hand Bharath working with Amazon travelled with colleagues from Whitefield to treat himself to a culinary extravaganza. Bharath shares, “This is my first visit for this year and of course there are many more to come. I’ve been coming here once every year since past five years and yes every time there is something new. This time there are many more stalls when compared to the past years. It seems very well organised but earlier there were several stalls in one spot and it was easier and indeed that was also exhausting in its own way. The commute to this place is a big task but anything for food, I’d probably be food-high on my way back so I am sorted.”
We’ve heard stories about the traffic woes and the ruckus these stalls have caused in the past, however after the intervention of the mosque, order and discipline has been restored. Amit Roy a resident from Mosque road and the owner of a famous food chain says, “I grew up here and the iftar food stalls were recently commercialised. In the yesteryears these stalls all gathered at one common spot and this caused a lot of confusion. The place was left messy and the streets were packed. But this year post the intervention of the mosque the stalls are well organised and the fact that there are stalls scattered around gives us an array of options.”
Managing the crowd and ensuring to satisfy the needs of the customer by being patient is definitely a difficult task. However, the organisers manage to do this with much excitement and tolerance, Asad Shacoor the partner/owner of Sheesh Kebab in Frazer Town, says, “There are many stalls but we don’t consider each other as a competition it’s all about serving the best and hygienic food to our customers. I see a lot of new faces everyday and of course our loyal customers who return, it’s definitely for the experience and the food. The only problem is the space we only have our hotel area to open the stall and that can get a bit congested, but it is in a way good that only those with food licenses and who own a restaurant can now open a stall. This way the food is hygienic and safe.”
